When Push Comes to Shove: Deny, Deny, Deny
by Sasusakui
Summary: Lili is put in a very tough position by her sadistic father who only lives and breathes to destroy Mishima Co. and he uses his own daughter to assist him. After being handed over to Jin as a wife through a business transaction, Edward Rochefort instructs his daughter to gain her way into Jin's heart. Unfortunately, she gains her way into someone else's.
1. Chapter 1

Play the Game or We'll Find Someone That Will

**Chapter 1**

Kiss him. All you have to do is win his heart and become his forever. That way, it'll be easy for us to go in for the kill and strike him down from his throne. It'll be easy for you yes? This wouldn't be your first time completely destroying someone in the worst way would it? Of course it isn't. Remember who you really are and don't pretend to be the precious thing that everyone perceives you to be.

Lili closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, cutting her eyes across the room this way and that. There would be no stopping today even if she had stayed asleep in bed that morning. Her hands were folded and set in her lap exactly like a proper lady, and not a single hair or thread on her was out of place. The only thing that seemed to not fit in the room was her depressing attitude that clouded the whole place and weighed down the very atmosphere around her. She knew her father could slap her right now for not looking as happy as he was about the transaction, but she couldn't help her unhappiness. All the tournaments she competed in, all the seemingly meaningful street fights she would get into- all for nothing. All just so her father could recover by the grace of God and hand her over to the same person she despised the most and happened to be the reason why he fell bedridden in the first place. It was the ultimate betrayal. But like Lili was brought up to know and remember: there was always an ulterior motive behind her father's actions. He _**never**_ did anything for free, nor did he ever do anything for "**_no reason_**", there was always a reason. So there was a reason behind this too, this disgusting transaction.

She kept her head bowed and her mouth shut as words flew across the table about what she would do for Jin on a daily basis (including the fact that she would also be his wife) up until she turned twenty-one (the lowest age her father consented to) that Jin was free to do what he wished with his daughter that didn't include killing her or making her his personal slave, specifically saying those words exactly.

Jin sat at the head of the long, oval table. To his right, his secretary Nina (and also personal assassin and bodyguard not that Lili's father knew), to his left a man named Eddy whom Lili once had the privilege of fighting before, and standing not too far behind the dark, brooding male was a much older, and more muscular male who was probably the spitting image of his son sitting before him. He was brooding as well, almost glaring into the distance past Lili's head, which from the awkward angle in which the blonde was sitting in, made it seem like his dark attention was turned onto her. That was hardly the case ,but she didn't know that. All she wanted to do was slink back into her embroidered king set and sleep the rest of her life away. Instead, she was forced to sit at the most awkward meeting of her life filled with the very people she hated the most (now her father included).

Sitting at the opposite head of the table was her regal looking father, whose bright blue eyes indicated his newfound health and just as equally healthy business spirit. To his right sat none other than his rather infamous daughter, and to his left sat his loyal butler Sebastian who hadn't said a word since the four hours of them all just sitting and plotting how the two businesses would merge finally.

"Merging our companies together would take us all to new heights, the possibilities are endless" Lili's father spoke convincingly.

Out of the young girl's peripheral vision, she could see Mishima stifle a soft snort and the shake of disapproval of his head. At least someone wasn't really buying into her father's bullshit right then. However, when she glanced at Kazama, she could see the calculative glint in his onyx eyes. He was actually considering the proposal and most likely going through all the pro's and con's of the deal. One of the "reassurances" her father had put on the table was his precious daughter's hand in marriage. A marriage in which Lili had no say so in. She felt shackled to her very death, and her death happened to be dressed in Louis Vuiton shoes she didn't quite agree with.

"You're correct in saying that we would all benefit from this merging. Our ratings would be through the roof and we could spread our reach to all the corners of the world, not that we really needed your help with that anyway, but the thought is nice considering all that's happened" Jin paused momentarily, looking from the slightly twitching father and to the dejected looking daughter and then sighing to himself. "But to put it simply, our funds are running rather low compared to the vast reserves of the Rochefort estate and this last small recession hit Mishima Co. pretty hard. We can't afford another hit like that again..."

Moment of truth. Lili was hoping for Jin's next words to go a little something like this: "...but we'll be just fine on our own. Your offer is appreciated ,but not needed. So you can keep your dying company and your too young for everyone in this room daughter" and then he'll stand up and leave following behind his father with his head up his pompous ass, but not even five seconds later her whole world came crashing down and finally took its last breath.

"...I accept your offer and look forward to doing business with you Mr. Rochefort" Jin said while standing.

Everyone rose after him accept for Lili who was still too dead inside to even blink, and her father and the devil shook hands with each other before Jin's party left the room entirely. When the young girl was sure Jin and his posse were out of ear and eyeshot she took the chance to burst into tears, full blown wailing and the like. Sebastian rose from his seat to immediately comfort his young ward, but her father stopped him with the simple raise of his hand- halting the butler's actions quickly. Lili's father turned towards her and gave her one warning only to stop her sobbing before he made her, all with one look. But this was her future they were talking about, the person whom she would have to wake up with every morning and live with and sleep with and cook for and clean for and bear children with and have never-ending sex with. All these thoughts clouding her mind at once made her cry even more and she found herself unable to stop. The next thing she knew, she was falling out of the chair she sat in, crashing onto the carpeted floor in a heap of silk white linen and expensive material. Sebastian had to turn away as the cry of pain erupted from her lips and he had to mentally shut his ears off completely to keep himself from intervening and making the situation even worse. He had to watch as his ward struggled to scramble away from him once she saw him loosen up his tie and unbutton his cuff links, he wanted to say something- anything to possibly halt his assault but all was lost when he suddenly stood and descended upon her.

Unable to swallow the scene any further, Sebastian quietly excused himself and left the room promptly. Not even a tear made itself known on the face of the old man, but his heart shattered all the more for the girl who closely resembled her precious mother.

* * *

><p>Jin and his party were quietly escorted out of the one of many Rochefort estates by one of the hand maids. She was quiet and didn't speak unless spoken to which led Jin to believe that her boss's persona outside of his elaborate mansion and inside of it were two vastly different people. To the outside world, Edward Rochefort was a kind and jolly man still struggling to get over the death of his late wife, Lilian Celeste, who was nothing but the splitting image of Emilie Rochefort, their only daughter. The people outside may see the one side of that man's face ,but Jin sees both and knows that the nicer one he's putting on up front is really a facade well placed and kept there for many years. In reality, he was actually a very controlling man. He could tell just by the way the maids and butler looked and acted, if he didn't see them beforehand he would've thought it was just Emilie, that butler that always follows her around, and her father just living in this too vast of a home with it just being the three of them. Yes. He knew a controlling man when he saw one, and his daughter was one fine example of what happened when that very same attribute trickled down to your offspring. The look on her face when they were speaking about her future as if it were nothing was proof enough of how much she opposed the deal, but what could she do? With her father holding all the cards and being the only real family the girl had left she had no choice but to bow her head and bite her tongue. Even more unfortunate for her, Jin felt sorry for her yes, but he wasn't sorry enough to really care. All he wanted was to improve Mishima Co. and if that meant getting a wife as well to take care of his personal and everyday needs then there was nothing else for him to care about or be concerned- her feelings be damned.<p>

They all heard the muffled screams echoing about the place. Soft and muffled ,but still loud enough to travel and bounce off the empty walls. Something within Jin found the thought that just entered his mind rather unsettling and it reminded him of the times when he would wake at night to hear his parents arguing and his mother screaming as his father wrapped his hands around her throat. But that was all behind him now of course considering the fact he even walked into the same building his father was in everyday and the very fact he could even tolerate the man everyday was nothing less than extreme willpower and mental strength on his behalf.

Back to his observation of Emilie's father. Yes, the man was definitely a crafty thing and he knew how to hide it well. Jin only knew this because his own father was the exact same way and possibly for the same amount of time and he almost wondered if as a result his own daughter turned out maybe exactly like himself. Bitter till' the very end, somewhat corroding from the inside out, and maybe silently crying out for help. The only thing that separated Emilie from Jin was the simple fact that he was a male and she was a female and the fact that Jin did not grow up with his harsh father's influence for very long. Eventually, his mother got him out of that house and as a result forfeited her life. Emilie was a different case.

Her attitude when she was around her father (although Jin had only seen the two together in the same room one time) was something permanent because she was never pulled away from him. She grew up under her father's thumb and now her mother was no longer around (which was still a mystery all in itself). Jin had done enough research on the two to know what it was like inside their home when no one else was around and important eyes weren't watching, plus his father always kept tabs on those that was ever once a threat to his company or territory and Edward Rochefort happened to be one of those people (though he didn't pose much of a threat now). So he was very much aware of the fact that Edward Rochefort liked to harm his only daughter in every which way that he pleased, and for all the fighting skills Jin knew the petite blonde possessed not once did she ever raise a hand against him. That was the extent of Jin's knowledge ,but he knew his father knew more about the two and wouldn't divulge the information for what reason he would never know.

Nina led the three of them back to the stretch black limo, the whole while talking on her phone in an affirmative voice. She opened the door for Kazuya first, waiting for him to sit comfortably in his seat before closing the door and seating Jin next, and doing the same thing for him. Her and Eddy walked towards the front of the limo and sat themselves and gave the two powerful men privacy. As soon as all were seated calmly they pulled off and gravel met with tire in peaceful harmony, the Rochefort mansion fading rather slowly from Jin's view and along with it his thoughts of Emilie and her father.

* * *

><p>AN: I would like some reviews, even if it's just one to continue this story. This was an after thought on my to-do list in my head and I wanted to put it out there. If you like it, simply comment that you would like for me to keep posting chapters of this and I will :3


	2. Chapter 2

Manipulation

**Chapter 2**

Bandages were gently and robotically wrapped around her seemingly frail and easily breakable limbs and Lili couldn't help but search for anything mentally to take her away from the hell that was her harsh reality. The hand maids were use to her father's antics by now and no longer offered words of sympathy or care and the petite blonde was starting to figure that they silently blamed her for their abuse as well. The only reason they stayed though was of course for the fantastic pay. So now as expected, the gentle touch that use to come from the kind hand maids now turned into bandages that were wrapped so tightly they cut into her skin painfully and the ailment cream to be rubbed into her wounds were rubbed in too harshly. Every wince that would indicate her pain earned her a seemingly well deserved glare from one of the maid, as if her was more than theirs they almost seem to scream at her.

Maybe the transaction wasn't such a bad idea. As someone's wife there was no way Jin would allow her to continue to live with her father and may even prefer for her to live with him, or at the very least he permanently reside in the Rochefort mansion (but that was highly unlikely considering Jin hated her father). When the maids were done with her wounds, they left her room promptly without a word and took some of the partially bloodied towels with them. If they wanted to be overly cruel to her (and she assumed it just wasn't the day) they would leave the little mementos in her room for her to discard herself. Lili wondered why she hadn't threatened them yet. Threatened to tell her father that they were abusing her and knowing what that would do to his ego, have them severely punished or worse. She sighed as she realized the simple answer to that question was because they were all in the same boat as her anyway except she was a blood relative and they weren't. They all obeyed the beck and call of her father, they were all abused by him mentally, physically, and sexually and they were all under his thumb for as long as they stayed within close proximity of the ruthless man and his reach was very far.

So even if she did voice their wrong-doings to her father it wouldn't matter because it wasn't any real justice, just a retaliation from someone who felt offended when others abused and used their toys and they weren't meant to.

A click brought Lili out of her thoughts and she snapped her head up towards her room door and calmed when she saw Sebastian enter and shut the door softly behind him. A piece of her was somehow upset with him for not intervening with her father and protecting her from his insatiable wrath, but the more logical part of her couldn't blame the loyal butler for something he could not control. The pain in his eyes as he looked at her bandaged body was tribute enough to her.

He bowed low before speaking to the young girl, inwardly wincing when he saw the bandaged strip over her eye and felt crushed. "I came to check on you, miss"

Her bright blue eyes narrowed sharply. "Well you've checked on me. Did you come to see me in my...pitiful state?"

"That's not fair" he grumbled softly to her. "you don't think it doesn't shame me enough to watch Master Edward do onto you what he would constantly do to your mother?"

That shut her up. Lili still had memories of the days where her father would have her mother dress her finest and look her best (and her mother's best was sincerely soul-catching) just to have her smacked down to his feet. Apparently, her father was highly intimidated by powerful women and her mother happened to be one of those women. The idea terrified him that at any moment Lilian could leave him and either find herself another, better, and possibly taller husband or just as likely stand on her two feet like the proud woman she was. Fortunately for him, her mother had one fatal flaw that kept her anchored to the furious man and that was her weak emotional heart. The moment she told a much younger Lili she had laid eyes on Edward was the moment she fell in love, and even then she knew by the cruel look in his cobalt eyes that the kind of love she was looking for would never exist in someone like him. She thought she could change him.

Sebastian was there when Lilian died, and he knew that Lili knew that. There wasn't one day in his life of working two generations worth for the Celeste's that he wondered why Lili wouldn't ask about her mother. All she would have to do is simply ask Sebastian what happened and he would tell her everything in full detail. Edward didn't know that he was present when Lili's mother died and the kind butler didn't intend for the man to find out any time soon either. It was easy enough to keep his own secrets simply because he had become somewhat of a vault for secrets others would tell him, some of those private tellings were even from Lilian herself and he vowed not to tell a soul. And he didn't.

However, if it was her only daughter asking then he would hold back nothing from her. The only thing he was worried about was Lili hadn't breathed a word of her mother to him, as close as she seemed to be to her (or the thought of her). He could still remember the day her father had a painted mural of Lilian put above the front mantle in the main living room of the mansion and he caught Lili standing in front of it just staring at it in awe.

"Despite what my father has done to me and everyone else of this house, I would still mind if he didn't force me into the marriage with Jin" her voice cracked slightly but she didn't care, to hell with her pride...her whole life and it's walls were falling down around her. "After all I've done for him. I've had my bones broken for him countless of times where I would fight in his name and health and went against Jin and the whole goddamn world and this is how he repays me...by giving me to the same person that inadvertently caused him to have a stroke"

He could see how close the young blonde was to crying and he went against his carnal desires to console her...sometimes she just looked too much like her beautiful mother. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to give her at least a false sense of security but she cut him off before he could utter anything more.

"Sometimes I wish he would die, and that way all of my hard work wouldn't be for nothing. Apparently that's exactly what I am to him, absolutely nothing" she said with a soft groan.

He took two steps towards Lili, being thrown back in time to when Lilian said those exact same words to him and he was a lot younger and his skin much tighter around his bones. She sat in Lili's place, wearing her night dress with hot tears running down her face and her love for Edward starting to wilt away as he left the mansion that night for someone older and more experienced.

"You don't mean that" Sebastian found himself saying. "He's all you have left and without him you have no one" he said gently.

Both women—well one was still a girl, hardly on the rise of yet being nineteen and her mother at this time being only twenty-five, rose their stricken heads and smiled gently.

"At least I have you Sebastian" Lili had told him.

His heart panned with a familiar ache at her words, her mother being the first one to say those words to him and him being the first to touch her mother the way Lili's father should've that night.

The loyal butler closed his eyes in memory and turned away from Lili slightly. "Even that you don't have Miss"

Lili frowned and threw him an incredulous look. Was he seriously abandoning her when she could use someone to support her at this moment? He was no better than her father. Her lips went thin and straight and a pain like no other etched across her face that Sebastian couldn't stand to look at, so on that account, he left her alone and in silence.

* * *

><p>Dark orbs met black surface and a pain filled grown followed soon after. Jin had fallen asleep in an exhausted heap in his office again and inwardly he was scolding himself for being too caught up in work not to notice his lulling head and drifting eyes.<p>

The emptiness of the whole building crushed down on the man's shoulders as he looked around and saw no one in yet. Looking at the clock sitting not too far from him, he realized no one would be in at the ungodly hour of 5:45am.

Except his father of course. He grimaced at the thought of being in the same vicinity as Kazuya as of the moment after the ear full he got in the long limo ride back to Mishima Co. about completely draining what was left of the reserves on something the haggard and steroid induced decrepit man thought of as "unnecessary". Jin could only roll his eyes, pretty much being forced to keep his trap shut considering the fact he stuck his own foot in his mouth. He did drain the reserves, and now Mishima Co. was running purely on the back pockets of his father and himself alone, and the two hadn't realized just how expensive the very place itself really was until they were the ones that had to keep it alive. So of course after realizing this fact after it had been oh so cleverly hidden from him right in front of his eyes, the very fact invoked such a wrath out of Kazuya Jin was sure they would eventually have to pull over next to an open area and fight it out right there and then.

Luckily for the both of them, that never happened. But the rest of the staff at Mishima Co. felt the full brunt of Kazuya's attitude, most walking out of his office with a grunt and muttering ill fated words on the man's head. Jin's employees could only thank their lucky stars that their boss had no such mood swings, but figured that he was the root of the problem considering the fact Kazuya would give him the evil eye whenever they happened to cross paths.

There was already a rumor going around that the infamous company wasn't doing too well and that the two heads were planning to lean on the Rochefort company for financial support. Jin wasn't one for confirming nor denying business related rumors in the offices ,but if it were ever a problem and began to interfere with the work of his employees he would fire them on the spot. He was merciless and wanted the absolute best. Kazuya's side of the nest was almost cold and unbearable, he hardly tolerated idle chatter between employees let alone breaks...they might as well be slaves. The only thing he had above Jin was the fact that he paid his workers well (Jin was a bit of a tight wad and found any excuse in the book to shave off a couple hundred dollars off of someone's paycheck) and knew he was working his people like dogs and quite often rewarded them for their hard work.

All in all, the balance between the two quite often made working underneath pleasurable or absolutely miserable, either way, most of their workers were incredibly loyal and very few left even though they could clearly see that their company was failing.

Jin stood from his work desk and headed towards his own personal break room for coffee. Once he got there though, he realized that the coffee that he possessed tasted terrible but gave him a rather impressive boost of energy, but the one in the public break room however...tasted way better. He mulled over his options before his right ear twitched because of a shuffle and he found himself turning around. Realizing it was no one else other than his vicious co-head, the dark haired man narrowed his eyes in annoyance before returning his attention to whether he should get the nasty coffee and be up for the next five hours or get the better tasting one and be asleep for the next ten years.

Kazuya took in the sight of the casual dressed Jin and mentally clucked his tongue at his slightly torn black jeans and dark button up to still appear business-like, not to mention the fact that he was wearing tim's. The elder man shook his head, there was so much for the younger version of himself to learn. But he didn't suddenly appear in Jin's office for nothing, it was all business as usual and it involved the rest of his life with the tall model-like blonde heir of the Rochefort business. It didn't seem like business to Kazuya but in reality it very much was so, the future of the business depended on this whole marriage and he would have to do everything in his own power as well to preserve such a trivial thing such as being tied down to one person, he also knew that the very idea disturbed his son as well.

"Married to a witty seventeen year old who has been on the prowl for you in the name of her father only to be sold off as a bargaining chip by the very person she set put to save. Her father almost sounds like—

"You." Jin cut in rudely.

A fury like no other flew across Kazuya's face, scrunching up his features into something terrifyingly ugly. "I was going to say your mother"

A satisfying smirk could be seen on the elder man's face as he witnessed the pulsing of Jin's outstretched vein across his jugular and forehead, a sheer sign of his anger. The mere mention of Rochefort being compared to himself made him say something that he would've avoided saying had he not been agitated as he was. No one knew that Kazuya Mishima liked to compare himself to a wasp's nest, once you messed with it, there was no stopping the onslaught of agony those multiple stings would bestow.

"As I was saying," Kazuya said while narrowing his eyes at a steaming Jin, "how do you intend to handle her, the girl I mean"

He crossed his arms and the man in front of him scratched his forehead in a frustrated gesture. "You ask that question as if she could pose a problem to us or this company"

"The reason some of these renegades as you call them get under our multiple layers of protection is because you overlook the ones that could really pose a threat. Your half only looks for really imposing enemies that more than likely could mean nothing, but the ones that could do some real damage to us are permitted to slide through because they aren't taken seriously. Rochefort's daughter was one of those people...you remember"

Jin hadn't forgotten. He was somewhere in the Middle East recovering from his wounds after his showdown with Azazel and had no idea where he was or really who he was other than the fact that he had been extremely hungry and tired. He was stranded in a city that was half buried by sand and as a result became a ghost town, there was no one around he could lean on for help and to the extent of his knowledge there wasn't another nearby city for miles. His only hope was the half sunken cathedral drowning in the sea of sand maybe a hundred yards away from him.

He approached it cautiously, not knowing what was inside and took the chance to observe for any movement before stepping inside the unknown building. From what he could see from the outside, the very top of the cathedral's roofing was eroded and destroyed. He was disappointed to say the least that he would be getting no shelter away from the oppressive heat that beat down on his back and made his already painfully tanned and naked back sweat, his pants even threatened to fall from all the perspiration that was trapped at his waist. Without pondering his decision any further, Jin started his way in when a hard blow to his back sent him sailing through the very wall of the place, a painfully ache shooting throughout his entire body.

His body tossed, rolled, and stumbled through concrete and crumbs of cement as he laid sprawled against a broken down monument of something that use to be there but was no longer. Groaning softly, his vision focused up at his assailant who knew no bounds when it came to her enemies. Soft white lace, knee high boots with red accents, and striking blue eyes that could bestow a cruelty he wouldn't know of from someone as young as herself.

A gentle half smile and a playful look. "You're not as tough as you look"

Jin grimaced at the memory to Kazuya's amusement. "That would never happen again. I was weak at the time and could barely figure out how to fight let alone defend myself after the battle with Azazel"

"Excuses." Kazuya said with a dismissive gesture. "My point is to not underestimate that thorn of a girl because of your meager pride. I'm sure you don't want to remind me of myself within you with your rather senseless actions"

A banging fist and a surge of fury connected with Jin's desk and Kazuya didn't even bat an eyelash. "Then what do you suggest I do oh-wise-one?!" He roared at the elder man. "It's already degrading enough to be shackled to a girl who's barely into womanhood and who bested me one time, once, in a fight I can hardly recall not to mention she had the help of that tyrant of a man whom I can't seem to find and you have the nerve to judge me...I don't know which is more frustrating"

He crossed his arms in an attempt to quell his urges of wanting to fight with his father right then and there and had to calm himself down even more so when his eyes met with his father's amused ones.

"I've said all I've needed to say to you. Just don't make the mistake of costing us the very thing that keeps us whole"

With that, Kazuya left Jin's office feeling quite satisfied with himself and returned to his own domain of Mishima Cooperation.

* * *

><p>AN: I do apologize for the long wait for those who were waiting on this next installment :3 I didn't mean for this to really be that much on the wait but being the girl that I am *sigh* I can get in trouble for stupid stuff and get my stuff taken. If it wasn't for that then this would've been out much sooner lmao.

Happy Reading guys!, Sasusakui


	3. Chapter 3

Deceitful Gestures

**Chapter 3**

Lili had never felt more alone in the world then right at that moment. After hearing the words Sebastian said to her and watching him walk out of her bedroom with not even a glance back, the clicking sound of her door added a finality that she really wasn't ready for. Salty tears dripped down her face and the next thing she knew she had been in her room for at least two days, not once had she shown her face to her father or Sebastian and she would rather it stay that way.

Her hair was sprawled across her multiple pillows and her whole face was beet red from all the crying and stressful groans she kept making. What grabbed her attention was the loud and expensive doorbell to her home ringing and a rather impressively loud banging on the front double doors. She waited a couple moments, listening intently and stopping her heavy breathing to see if a maid or maybe Sebastian would open the door for the stranger...but no one did.

When the racket continued she groaned rather loudly and stopped all the way down the spiral staircase, past the completely empty and massive kitchen, down the main hall, and across the large mantle of her mother , and eventually in front of the double doors leading into her home. She opened the large door with as much strength as she could muster and narrowed her eyes at the intruder.

"What?!" She practically growled.

* * *

><p>Dark shades peered down and into the icy blue eyes of the Rochefort heir and then he saw a change. They paused, widened a little and her small mouth did a shape of a small 'o' and her whole demeanor seemed to collapse into itself as she leaned on the door for more support perhaps.<p>

The shades he was wearing were so dark that she struggled to peer into them to find his eyes, but it was a fruitless search, he could see inside her soul and she would never be able to return the favor for as long as he had the accessory on.

He gazed at her momentarily, noting her red-streaked face and the bruises under her eyes and the matching ones on her arms and across her chest, then raising his eyebrows lightly at her attire, a strapless dress that was nearly all see-through except for the area that snuggled her breasts together enticingly (those he also noticed had bruises across them, especially between them and in most likely crevices he couldn't see, those marks were a soft red and slightly puckered), her golden tresses were messy and her bangs were uneven, even her feet were bare.

Jin in the flesh was looking at her in her most venerable state and she couldn't help but seem to cower under his scrutinizing even though she couldn't exactly see him staring at her, but she did feel him doing it.

"My father isn't here" she told him almost dismissively. She went to shut the door but his foot didn't allow it.

"I didn't come here for your father" he told her.

She cut her eyes away from his face and backed away from the door frame, allowing enough room for him to walk in, which he did. Lili shut the door behind him and walked in front of him to another area of the living room, off to side of the mantle, where up above Jin noticed the giant painting for the first time. He never noticed it until he found himself halting all of his thoughts just to gaze at the mural.

The woman sitting with her hands in her lap seemed absolutely calm and serene, gentle and lady-like with kind eyes, the perfect mother figure no doubt. Her blonde hair and soft side bang flowed down her back and seemed to go on forever and the small smirk she had almost made Jin's heart skip a beat (something that was foreign to the always serious man), her almost icy silver eyes seemed to tell a different story...a sad story.

His eyes snapped down as Lili stood in front of him, looking from him slowly and to the painting on the wall. She had a steaming cup of tea on a small tray for him but that didn't seem to register in her mind as her eyes seemed to lower at the sight of her mother holding the brooding man's attention.

The younger blonde female set the small tray down on a table off to the side and turned her attention back to the silent man who seemed almost...embarrassed to be caught staring at the mural. "I see my mother has once again stolen the show" she said with a slight smile.

Jin glanced at the picture one last time and sweeped his gaze all around the room except at Lili who was staring right at him. "Lilian Celeste. My father met her once...disastrous" Jin muttered.

Lili tilted her head to the side like a puppy, a question rising on her lips. "I had no idea..." Her lips pursed in thought before her mouth set in a straight line. "Then again my father never tells me anything anymore..."

She set off walking with the intention of Jin following after her, which he did but not without giving the beautiful painting one last glance before letting his eyes travel down her slender back and to her slightly exposed backside that was only covered with white panties. She really walked around the house like that? He wondered to himself.

Lili could feel holes burning through her back and knew Jin was staring once again. She didn't mind all too much, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he had looked intensely at the bruises her father left behind and that made her feel more embarrassed than him ever seeing her half naked. She would prefer that over her father's atrocities being on full display any day.

The two passed by the massive kitchen once again, Jin not surprised by any of its grandness considering his was if not the same size larger. They ascended the spiral staircase all the way up to her room (which was much too large for her he was sure) and she walked in and he followed behind her, inwardly frowning when he realized the only reason he would ever walk into a woman's bedroom would be for one thing.

He left the door open and sat down on the small chair sitting plainly in front of her massive white laced canopy as she padded her way into her bathroom to get a hairbrush. He cleared his throat as he watched when she exited and sat in front of the mirror in front of him. She grabbed pieces of her hair as if it would just fall out if she tugged on it in the slightest and soon her messy bed head turned into a pretty golden curtain falling around her shoulders and she cut her bangs straight across her forehead with a certain perfection that Jin couldn't possibly hope to achieve.

"So...I know you didn't just come here to stare at my late mother above our fireplace" she spoke aloud.

He watched her momentarily before returning his attention back to his thoughts and memories of a year ago. The baking sun and that ghost town, the fallen cathedral and her sudden appearance, the kick that she threw that sent him sailing clear through the wall and then that red-headed monkey making a sudden appearance and forcing him to...turn. He clenched a fist tightly on the armrest of her chair at the memory and his eyes narrowed at the back of her head. The thought of her ever defeating him in a fight brought out a rage in him that he didn't think possible in terms of her and he found himself slamming a fist down over her shoulder and on the surface of her small desk with the mirror attached to it.

He stood over her almost possessively and he gazed at her reflection in the mirror as she remained seated in the plush chair in front of the desk. She stared at him silently, not blinking and looking at his face tentatively and vaguely wondering what had him so angry in that short amount of time. From the way his jaw was slightly twitching gave Lili the indication that whatever he was mad about, she was the cause, and whatever it was it deeply bothered him. She wanted to smirk so badly.

He put his other hand softly on the surface of the desk over her left shoulder and he leaned lower to where his chest was almost touching the top of her head. He asked his question slow and deliberate and Lili knew that if she answered wrong he would possibly gut her right then and there in her very own room and won't think twice about it.

"How did you find me?" He nearly growled out. "In that barren desert with nothing around for miles...you attacked me out of nowhere"

In a flash it seemed, she had turned around in her chair to face him and spread her legs so that they bordered his. Her head tilted back and her bruised skin was fully on display for him now and her equally bruised lips pursed up at him in thought. Her hair now cascaded over his fingers which were still firmly planted behind her and every single strand felt like silk to him. Jin found himself swallowing slowly.

"You say that as if I attacked you for no reason" she cut her eyes away from him before returning her gaze back on his half covered face, still seeing nothing behind those dark shades of his. "I hope you understand that I had every intention of killing you back then...maybe I still do"

*Thump*

He scoffed. "You still haven't answered my question"

She rolled her eyes almost playfully and Jin had to suppress the urge of wrapping his hands around her throat. "Raven was very helpful"

His eyes narrowed further. He was sure after he regained his memory that no one knew he was alive other than his father who knew deep down that his son was never really dead to begin with.

"If he's paid enough, Raven can be useful. So there's no doubt I nearly blew his mind with my offers and he doesn't particularly like you either so he was almost more than willing to tell me where he last saw you. After that...I had an old friend of mine help me get there who owed me a favor and there you were. All lost and unsuspecting..." She blinked up at him and he could feel his annoyance fluctuate.

*Thump Thump*

He gritted his teeth at her and then snatched away from his presence, storming out of her room in a wind of fury and stomping his way all the way down her stairs and out the front doors, being sure to slam them both extra hard.

Lili finally flinched when the loud clap of noise bounced off the walls of the house and painfully echoed between her ears. Her cheeks flooded with heat as she put a shaky hand up onto her forehead and laughter started to erupt somewhere from her throat. She chuckled behind her tightly pinned lips and covered them with her hand, eventually she couldn't hold it any longer and fell faint against her table behind her. Lazily, she draped her arm across the length of her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. Oh how amusing Jin Kazama really was.

* * *

><p>Jin clutched at his erratic beating heart and narrowed his eyes even further. He went to her home to confront her personally and he still hadn't really gotten the answers out of her that he wanted, all because he seemed to be distracted for some reason. Flashes of pieces of her body flew through his head as he seemed to subconsciously memorize every detail about her without even knowing it.<p>

The way her hair felt as it seeped through his fingers, the way her pouty mouth opened a little when she stared up at him, the soft curves and arches of her lower back and plump cheeks as they poked out from her thin white panties, her creamy thighs as they spread for him, the way she playfully smiled up at him and pleasantly told him she wanted to kill him, and just they way she gazed up at him...

He was pissed to say the least and he would have to admit through gritted teeth that he was attracted to the young girl and it was clear to see where she got her enticing looks from. Her mother was stunning enough to catch his eye and he would even admit that she would be the woman he would consider to marry, but he was stuck with her daughter who had the personality of someone that could cause him to put a bullet through his own head.

He didn't take the family limo to her mansion this time and got into his own vehicle. A simply but fairly efficient midnight black escalade that was also black on the inside. Stepping on the pedal violently, he burned rubber as he sped down her driveway and through her silver gates and passing by the giant field of pure white and orange lilies. He shook his head at the sight and tightened his jaw, gazing absentmindedly at the flying petals on the wind as it carried them across his windshield.

"I didn't know you started taking an interest in her already" Kazuya said in an amused tone as he popped grapes in his mouth.

Jin glared at him, inwardly wishing he'd choke on one. "I'm not interested in that nuisance of a girl. I only went to question her about how she found me in the desert, it should've been virtually impossible considering everyone thought I was dead. Apparently Raven gave her a tip and that was how she was able to find me"

Kazuya laughed loudly, clearly tickled by the fact his high and mighty son let his soon to be wife get under his skin so quickly and efficiently. He could tell by the way Jin was leaning against the doorframe to his office with his arms angrily crossed and his slightly red face. There was nothing Jin could hide from him when it came to his emotions. To his father, he was an open book with his heart on his sleeve, to others, he was a silent brooding man who had no emotions.

But something in what Jin said to him struck his interest. The mention of the elusive Raven made Kazuya remember a time when he one time offered the man a proposition and he turned it down. It included something along the lines of working for him and he won't be killed and the next thing Kazuya knew, he had disappeared from sight and has been impossible to find ever since then. The fact that the Rochefort heir of all people was able to grasp the ninja's attention was an impressive feat upon itself, there was also the fact that Raven despised him and Jin all the same.

"Crafty like her father, and ambitious like him too. She would be a nice asset to this—

The company was not up for discussion. If anything his arranged marriage and his piece of the business would be two very separate things, he would never mix the two. He would stop his father's maniac idea right at the bud. Mishima Co. was like Jin's zen just like Lili's possessions were at one time her zen, he didn't want to share it with anyone, especially someone like the Rochefort heir who would more than likely sink her fangs into it and drain it of life simply to piss Jin off. He almost wondered if it got her off just to see him of all people in frustration or pain.

"No." Jin said with a finality that even Kazuya knew he wouldn't be able to sway. "Getting married to her is unfortunate enough..." Jin muttered.

* * *

><p>Lili stood in front of her father and Sebastian as if she were on trial. She looked back and forth between them uncertainly and then averted her gaze to her feet that were occupied by white heels at the moment. She changed from her skimpy sleep ware to a plan white dress with thick straps that hardly left any skin on her shoulders visible, the hemline was barely passing her collarbones, and the whole dress itself stopped abruptly above her knees. The whole ensemble still didn't stop her father from leering at her with a look that someone who was related to him should've never known.<p>

Her blonde hair was in the popular 80's style. A thick white headband sat at the front of her head and her bangs were pleasantly rolled back into a nice pompadour. Opal pearls sat in her ears and around her slender neck, the bruises that were once there covered away by her favorite concealer.

"So, your talk with Jin...went well I presume" her father asked her simply.

Lili's eyes swooped across the room before meeting her father's for the first time the whole interrogation. "I attempted to subtly seduce him if that's what you're asking" then her eyes flickered away just as fast. "But the man has a will of steal, surely you know this"

Her father made a disgruntled noise and she sunk even further into herself. Not that he would ever know, to the both of them (Sebastian and Edward) she appeared a bit bored, and not in the slightest peaked in interest, but inside she was tearing herself apart. She involuntarily flinched when Edward raised his hand to scratch at his beard and sighed in relief when her mind (in a rather delayed and slowed movement) figured out his true intentions and preferred the dark look he gave her to the hardness of his hand. All the same, she fixed her tone when speaking to him after she realized it was her tone that upset him.

"Strong will be damned, he is still a man. And all men have needs no matter how strong their mind is and how deep their ambitions go. Surely, you must know that Emilie" her father almost purred.

Said girl turned her head in an almost disdained fashion and swallowed, allowing the shiver to crawl up her back in a leisurely pace. Her clammy hands started to fidget (a habit foreign to her unless she happened to be in the presence of her tyrant of a father) and they clutched at each other in an attempt to calm their host, and she couldn't stop the light tears from falling silently. Her eyes widened more and more every passing second and she could almost hear him licking his lips at the doe like expression.

She didn't dare look at Sebastian, the traitor because she knew what she would find—his heart breaking for her. How dare he?! How dare he still weep for her when he threw her to the wolves (wolf—there was only one and he was big and bad and all knowing and powerful, refusing to be stopped) without even a glance behind him? But that was exactly what she should've expected from Sebastian because little did she know, the kind of sympathy she was looking for in him would never be found. It just sucked that he didn't show his true colors until it was the most crucial point of her life.

"Sebastian..." Edward called to him.

The once loyal butler looked to his master and recognized the same mechanisms and the same gestures. It was like being thrown back in time where Lilian was standing in front of the both of them instead of Lili and the same expression was on her face. A mixture of depression and deep loathing, except with her mother, a touch of slight heat was embedded in the corner of her eyes and etched itself out into the shakiness of her fingertips: furious anticipation. She was a case of Stockholm syndrome that he had fallen in love with on first sight. He couldn't fathom how she had fallen so hard and so fast for Edward, but he had gotten his piece when he needed to...and he would never regret that one night between them for as long as he lived.

"Yes sir" he answered.

His gestures, they were all the same. Loosening his tie, the cuff links forgotten, and his over coat thrown to the side rather abruptly. "My daughter and I must speak on private matters. I must teach her the ways in which to resist a man that clearly wants to take advantage of her"

Sebastian could do nothing but once again turn away from the atrocity that became his master and simply nod his head, once again leaving his young ward to her father. His gloved hand softly touched the door to leave and he walked through and slowly closed it behind him, all the while avoiding the piercing gaze that Lili's striking blue eyes gave him as he disappeared into the depths of the mansion.

* * *

><p>AN: Greetings my lovely readers!

I apologize for the wait but I kinda wanted to make this longer and maybe, a little more in depth ? And that's what I tried to do here. If this wasn't to your liking then...o.O i don't know what to tell ya. Hopefully it'll get better then?


	4. Chapter 4

SPD-Split Personality Disorder

**Chapter 4**

"I want to kill you"

Her eyes told a completely different story, not to mention her body language. Everything she did was minor or majorly suggestive. The way she looked at him: lashes and the whole bit looking up at him as if she were the purest female of them all and desired by all and the cruel thing knew it too. She dressed the way she did purely to attract him and when she talked he would get glimpses into her mouth where her tongue would curl in the lewdest fashion, and give him the wildest of fantasies all at one time. Just like now, as she sat cross-legged on his bed in something see through and white (why was it always white?) and looking at him with that same knowing look. As if she were a predator that was waiting for her prey to calmly fall into her trap.

He approached her almost cautiously as if his analogy was actually true and brushed a slightly calloused hand along the very top of her shoulder and stopped his trail right above her elbow. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he observed that her skin was just as smooth as he imagined it would be, and was as creamy as it was up close than far away. He seized his opportunity and grabbed a handful of her silky hair and he found her closing her eyes in bliss as he unconsciously rubbed circles into her scalp. Blue eyes met onyx as they edged closer to each other, noses touching, and finally lips. It started soft and then grew rougher, then painful. They both hungered for something only the other could give. Between gasps for air, he found himself saying things he thought he would never say, and she told him things his ears would never forget. Both knew that at this moment in time, they were binding each other to secrecy and modesty and only to each other would they reveal more.

"Kill me" he repeated her earlier. "you would like that wouldn't you?"

His mouth was searching, searching for her's and he could feel her smiling in glee somewhere near him. "I won't allow you to be killed by anyone else. Your life is mine, you belong to me"

Blonde hair pooled onto his black satin sheets and more of it pooled when he tilted her head back by slightly tugging on her golden tresses. His hand started at the middle of her chest and grazed along her cleavage before eventually wrapping around her throat. Oxygen slightly leaving her, he got the reaction he was looking for as a violent shiver ran up and down her spine. His lips crushed against hers and he tasted blood on her teeth as she grunted slightly at the stinging pain. Engraving his thumb print in the little dip on her throat, he shivered again as she made a little croaking noise in his mouth. He suckled away all the droplets of blood from around her gums and tongue, rolling his eyes back slightly and moaning into their kiss.

Her hands grazed along his jawline and she dug her nails into his flesh, drawing blood from him as well and smirking as she returned the favor. He loosened his grip on her once he felt her losing the fervor she once had and she sighed in relief, her warm breath spreading into his like a soft cloud. He took the reins of the kiss and lowered her back flat underneath him, her legs parting to receive the width of his upper body. They continued to frantically kiss each other passionately, tearing at the other's clothing until it was no more and all obstacles were out of the way.

She wound her hands over his bare chest and he shivered at how cold they were and then she drew away from his lips and bit into his neck painfully, a painful groan coming from his mouth at the feeling. He could feel the wetness of her tongue as she ran it over the little wound she made as if to soothe it. Then her mouth began to move against his flesh, forming words he couldn't necessarily hear unless he concentrated.

"As fun as this is," she met his eyes for the final time that night. "you have to wake up at some point, husband of mine"

And awaken he did.

Dark eyes shot open from underneath his forearm and Jin found himself groaning loudly at the ringing occurring in his head. There was no doubt in his mind that if the sound continued he would soon have a headache worse than any other hangover he's ever had in his life. Ripping his satin sheets away from his lower body, he all but jumped out of his bed, and shivered at the contact of his feet meeting the chilly dark wood floors. The ringing between his ears continued as he made his way towards his massive bathroom, not a bright color to be seen except for the bright right porcelain tub that could hold fifty people, and in front of his mirror did he stop to look at himself. He looked almost haggard, as if someone stole life from him. His pallor was considerably noticeable to himself than it would be to other people, he had always been pale, but this was verging on sickly almost. He clenched and unclenched his fists and knew his strength was still there and his muscle weight was completely normal, it was just his appearance that dawned on him the most. It made no sense.

He drew up his hand to the right side of his neck and scratched at it absent-mindedly. The texture on his usually smooth skin brought his eyes back up to the mirror that showed a bruise there. Purple and red almost popping right at him with its brightness. It closely resembled a hickey almost, but it was aggressive and noticeable. Jin was shocked to see it there to say the least and could do nothing but stare at the mark and touch it absently.

* * *

><p>Walking into the office on a brisk cold morning—slightly late, but not so much so that his employers were fumbling around wondering what to do with themselves. Kazuya Mishima walked through the halls of his side of Mishima Co. and he looked and breathed money and wealth with a spice of prestige. It was also a given that the man was not a morning person whatsoever, although he took adequate time in his schedule to sleep, he just wasn't a fan of waking up early and more than often slept late into the afternoon on weekends.<p>

He wore the latest fashions and kept his appearance around other people clean and if not perfect, pretty damn close. Louis Vuitton shoes of alligator material and matching the slate gray color of the carpet he walked in, Calvin Klein slate gray suit with a white undershirt and stormy blue tie to accentuate the whole ensemble, and lastly a Michael Kore silver watch with blue accents. His whole everyday business outfit was way over the budget of most professional musicians around and yet he seemed to always keep money in his pockets even after the recession hit everyone pretty hard, and the celebs were no strangers either.

It was no secret that his son, Jin, was the more favored out of the two C.E.O's and that was mostly because his son was a lot '_nicer_' or more pleasant to be around if they really wanted to get down to it. Mishima pushed his employers to the brink and sometimes, more often than not, got angry at them for no reason or just plain had an attitude. But as far as the business rumors going around amongst the women about which of the two was the better looking...Kazuya would be the first to underhandedly say that he was the one, while Jin would simply claim he's not interested whatsoever (knowing full well that if he ever found out it was his father, his pride would take a serious blow). What they both didn't know is that it's a complete and utter tie and that the both of them get the same amount of drools when they passed by.

Brave souls who saw their boss exit out the main elevator and onto the top floor went out to greet him, only to receive the cold chill that was Kazuya as he didn't reply and kept walking. If it wasn't for the awful glares he would send their way for speaking to him at such an ungodly hour (because 8:00am is too early for someone like Mishima) than no one at all would know they were even being acknowledged by the man. Even still, he forever captured the hearts of the females swooning over just the scent of his cologne as he walked casually to his office.

Once the Co-head of Mishima Co. made it to his office on the far right side of the building, he closed the door behind himself and blocked the rest of the business world out. The sound of clicking keyboards, tired murmurs, and the low sizzle of coffee being made irked him into even more of a foul mood and he found the scowl on his face unable to go away. No one would've ever guessed that the infamous Kazuya hated business with a passion, and he hated cubicles and offices just like his own even more. His whole family line had a very strong affinity for knowledge and wisdom which was helpful in the business world, but he just didn't find himself hungry with greed like he use to be. A sense of purpose was missing within him and he could feel the deep hole in his chest grow wider and wider every time he walked in through the double doors of the tall building.

Kazuya would never admit to anyone that he didn't want the throne of power anymore. Maybe not even to himself, but he wasn't a huge fan of lying, especially to himself-he despised that the most. It was easy running the company, almost like he was counting on his fingers, it was just tiresome and bland. There was no excitement walking into this hellhole of a building where dreams were crushed and sometimes lives lost, or being responsible for the loss. Yes, Mishima couldn't do this anymore. It would probably kill him if he went on like this.

His thoughts were interrupted when a polite knock was placed on his door. Head shooting up from the surface of his desk, Kazuya cleared his throat before speaking with full authority.

"Enter!" he commanded.

His door swung open to reveal Anna, his secretary, whom he glared at because she had a desk all to herself where there was a phone she could use to call him if need be. The fact she was standing there (in more than inappropriate clothing to walk around in on his side of the building) in his doorway angered him considering the fact that she also accepted calls from customers as well, which lead back to the question of why she wasn't where she was suppose to be. He saw her eyes narrow when he gave her an up-and-down look with one once over with his eyes and no where on her body did his dark eyes linger, not once. She tried really hard this time too as it seemed. He couldn't understand why she kept going out of her way to impress him when he made it clear to her on multiple occasions (rather bluntly too), that he simply wasn't interested. On and on she kept trying, so he let her until the day he was waiting for where she would give up and try no more.

Her blood red business skirt rode high up her thighs that were accentuated with floral black fishnets, she didn't wear an undershirt whatsoever to modestly cover up the obscene cleavage she showed, and her make-up (although not out of place whatsoever) was put on quite heavy. Kazuya found himself sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose at the sight, how many times did he have to tell her to stop dressing like that? It was only his attention she was trying to catch, but it drew the other men in the office away from their work and if that happened he lost money and there was nothing he hated more. He wondered why he hadn't fired her already, and then he remembered...it was because aside from her sister Nina (who Jin had as an assistant) she was the best assassin in the business at the moment.

"Anna..." he trailed slowly. "Must I repeat myself more than one time?"

Annoyance clearly laced along his tired sounding words, Anna decided to trail very carefully, figuring he simply wasn't in the mood for her shenanigans and even went as far as buttoning the business jacket she wore up to a point that modestly covered the most of her bountiful chest. Once she was finished, Kazuya nodded his head in approval and found it easier to look at her face now that the distraction was gone.

"Now what was so important that you had to come into my office to tell me?" he questioned lazily.

With the mention of the subject she had yet to breach with him, her face quickly turned sour. At the sight of her changed expression, Kazuya grew curious at what she had to say, whatever it was deeply disturbed her and there were few things that did.

The memory of what she saw hit her at full force before she opened her mouth to tell Kazuya the news. She wasn't at the meeting at the Rochefort mansion so she had no idea that Kazuya already had a hunch about what frequently happened between the Rochefort heir and her despicable father. "I came to tell you something important, something about Jin's...future fiance" she paused trying to gather her words. "she's damaged goods, that's the nicest way I can put it" she told him bluntly.

Kazuya's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Damaged goods? "Elaborate" he commanded.

Anna shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly. She was hoping that he didn't ask her to tell in detail what made her think the Rochefort heir was damaged product, but now she had to figure out a way to modestly put what she saw into words. "Her father..." she paused and sighed. "he's disgusting...we now know why he never re-married to another woman and that's because he uses his daughter as a replacement for his dead wife. They do look very much alike"

A sour taste seemed to erupt in Kazuya's throat and on top of his tongue. He always had a hunch that Edward Rochefort was man that liked to use his fists and hands when he was angry at the simplest things, but he never considered...

He thought of how heart-broken her mother Lilian would be if she were still alive and before he knew it Kazuya was drawing up an image of her from his distant memory. To the time when she invited him to her home and they had met for the first time.

* * *

><p>Lilian's family line, The Celeste's, were very old and very wealthy. As the sole heir to the ridiculous amount of money that rivaled even his own family line's, it was spread around that she was looking to invest in a new company to further increase the fortune of her own business (which was at the time heavily tied in with drugs of all kinds and her business was so large that no type of government could hope to shut it all down), mainly for the protection of it rather than the money she knew it would provide for her.<p>

There was a large get together in her home for the sole purpose of her fishing in the pond of the business world. She invited representative upon representative, and owner after owner into her mansion along the coasts of Japan. Kazuya, who was the sole owner of Mishima Co. at the time, was among one of the many CEO's whom been invited to the special occasion. He was familiar with her "_work_" and knew at some point in time they would eventually clash because they both dealt with the same crowd of people and high positioned circles, eventually growing into a battle of territory.

And a battle it was. She would cleverly snatch his partners from right under his feet and he would return the favor whenever he got the chance, but they had never met on any sort of grounds.

Kazuya was a sensible man at this point in time, and too clever for anyone to match him at anything and those that tried were completely obliterated, but this woman seemed to go toe-to-toe to him as if it were a tango and she been dancing that dance for years and searching for a partner in which to do that dance with. She was smart, cunning, modestly hungry for power, and heavily independent. To say Kazuya already had an infatuation for her before even seeing her in person was an understatement, he was intrigued.

When the head of Mishima Co. and his entourage first stepped on the scene, he could only smirk at the envious glares that other CEO's gave them for they were sure Lilian would consider the infamous Mishima name and whatever they had to offer her. Fortunately for Kazuya, up until that point in which he arrived (which was later than most) it was said to him that Lilian had been an icy fortress and so far no one there had sparked her interest enough to get her to invest. Some had the privilege to almost get her to lift a finger and give them consideration, and then they would say something to make her recede back into the hardness of her exterior and she would dismiss that person out of her presence rather politely. Not only did she want someone intellectually on her level, but she wanted them to at least look the part as well. She was after all a very beautiful woman, and would have nothing but the most attractive people in her circle.

Kazuya and his entourage entered her home and the crowd parted for them, the Mishima name being whispered amongst the crowd of business folk who knew of either the horrors that went along with that name or the seemingly impossible triumphs. The powerful man couldn't help but smirk inwardly to himself as he swelled with pride, that was until he saw Lilian Celeste in the flesh standing not too far from him and his pride went right out the door he had just walked through. She hadn't noticed him yet, and the small hush of the large crowd seemed to go over her head as she continued her small conversation with someone she was considering doing business with. As she politely laughed at the mediocre joke the man told her, Kazuya took the chance to stare at the gorgeous woman. She had the curves of a seductress and yet hid away what almost every man there wanted to see in a rather modest silver dress. Her legs seemed to travel on forever and her skin was without blemish and was creamy to the whole purpose of the word. The slit of her dress only traveled mid-thigh and the arch of her back was slightly exposed as the one shoulder silver material draped gently across her chest. Her golden mane swished with every turn of her head and stopped right above her ample waist, Kazuya was memorized and wouldn't hesitate to admit that.

Her conversation with the male died and she finally turned around and their eyes caught each other's for the first time that night. Time seemed to stand still for the both of them and their situation hit them full force. They were long time enemies finally meeting each other for the first time on the bloody battlefield littered with the corpses of their opposers who tried to overtake them. They were two kings finally seeing each other after years of taking from one another, and now they both had mixed feelings about everything they had ever known about the other.

She politely excused herself from the oncoming male who was currently on his way to speak to her, and instead made her way towards the head of the business who's only purpose seemed to be taking her customers away from her. Kazuya watched the sway of her dress and felt his heart speed up a bit, watching as she almost seemed to glide towards him. He disregarded the hushed whispers as it seemed that he was the only one Lilian bothered to approach herself, and thus the rumors began.

"Mishima," she greeted politely with the slight decline of her head. "a pleasure to finally meet you" she said while extending her hand.

Kazuya threw a dashing smile at her and grabbed her gentle hands and brought them both to his lips, watching as a pretty color filled her cheeks. "The pleasure is mine" he replied.

She gently pulled her hands back and held it at her sides in a lady-like fashion, the color in her cheeks fading as soon as it came. "I would've thought with all the competition between you and I, you would never consider attending a get together that I'm hosting. We are enemies you know..." she said trailing off.

He chuckled handsomely and walked a little past her as he went to get himself and her a drink. "The way you stated that almost makes it seem as if you wouldn't want to go into business with me at all, if that was the case it brings me to wonder why I was among the many to get an invitation"

She gave him a smile of her own and followed him a little ways towards the drinks where she took little account to what he was doing. He was hardly right in his observation ,but she wouldn't say anything to make him think otherwise. He may have believed that she truly didn't want anything to do with him, but on the contrary, his methods of doing business sparked her interests a long time ago when it first came to her attention.

By this time, Kazuya's entourage disappeared, spreading out and mingling with the crowd to make impressions and attempt to make other connections while having the opportunity to do so. The crowd talked amongst itself and the two could've been submerged in an even larger crowd and still make their way to each other and converse and drown in their own little world they created together. They went unseen by many, their greed getting in the way of the reason why they attended the gathering in the first place. The point was to get _her _to invest in their businesses, not to take the chance to mingle with others and make pointless connections with people that could very well fall through. But if they were smart, they would be like Kazuya and do both.

He gracefully poured sparkling champagne for the both of them without wasting a drop into wine glasses, all the while keeping a close eye on the way she watched him with almost predatory eyes. Then he saw a smile sneak onto her face, and the simple action seemed to lighten the very air around her.

"I'm almost positive you would've done the same had the shoe been on the other foot Mishima -"

He politely cut her off with the single raise of his hand, which she obeyed plainly and waited for him to speak. "Call me Kazuya" he told her.

She almost seemed to still as he handed her the champagne glass and clink it against his own as she held it graciously. "Lilian.." she returned before tilting her head back slightly and tasting the bland alcohol on her tongue.

"As I were saying," she said while eyeing him playfully. "I'm sure you would've done the same _Kazuya_. If anything you would want to have an enemy like me in your corner, as I would you"

The dark haired man had to keep a very close notice on his heart rate for the sole purpose of playing the way she said his name over and over again in his mind. The little whispy sound at the end of her sentences, especially while speaking his native language, indicated she was very much foreign if her appearance didn't prove as much. There was no doubt in his mind that she was of French decent, her accent was too attractive sounding for him to consider otherwise.

He rose his eyebrows at her cooly. "Oh? What made you consider that I would want you as a partner?" he asked her with a hint of humor.

She put a hand on his shoulder and he almost jumped. Gently, she dragged her fingertips along the length of his shoulders until she was on his other side, completely within his eyesight. "Please don't play coy with someone like me. I know you're not a man who just does things on a whim, I know this because I've seen you in the field. If you truly didn't want my hand in partnership then you would not have come here to meet me now would you?" she asked him with a small smile.

He observed her facial expression as he replayed her words in his mind. Her voice was low enough so only he could here and there was something vicious hiding behind those almost silver eyes of her's. She was dangerous, he now knew. The amount of money she sat on more than likely had other people's blood on it (not that he wasn't familiar with having a certain amount of his own) but the entirety of her fortune was made out of blood money. Kazuya was sure at the time that she knew what kind of targets were placed on her head, he was aware of them herself, and didn't care that some of those targets could shift to him simply out of association. She was old enough to know what she was getting into and her world would be far more dark than his own, her eyes told him that she knew what she doing full well and that it could also get her killed without a trace of evidence left behind. Her very existence could blotted out and she knew that, she was just the type who found a certain high from being in close proximity to danger.

* * *

><p>Thinking back on it now, Kazuya wondered vaguely if her world was the cause of her mysterious death. With the redefined weight of her departure on his shoulders after some minutes of being thrown back in time, Kazuya returned to the present with the shake of his head. That was ten years ago, and it was time to let sleeping dogs lie before he unearths something he'd rather not uncover.<p>

"I'm assuming this is not the first time he's done...that" he asked stated aloud.

She walked around his office and he watched as she did so, letting his eyes linger on her exposed legs before returning his attention back to his assistant's rather troubled facial expression. Sighing somewhat, as she shook her head no. "I've just started watching them as you've instructed and there was a sort of...resigning way in which he made her do things. This is her way of life when she is with him," she paused and averted her gaze, "her father is despicable" she said lowly.

Kazuya's mouth went into a straight line, transforming slowly into a distressed frown. He couldn't say he didn't hear the acute muffled screams of the girl as they were all leaving. Everyone heard it and no one had the stomach to comment on something so pitiful. Including his own, everyone's inside seemed to twist at the images that popped in their minds about what he could possibly be doing to the young girl and why Rochefort couldn't wait to do those actions mainly so they would hear. Kazuya supposed they were lucky they didn't _see_ anything and just heard the aftermath of it.

"Are you going to tell Jin?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "I have to. He has to know what he's dealing with. I just wish I would've known this before we all made the decision to have the meeting there with her present." he found his throat constricting a little. "I would've spared her the whole thing had I known this is what she went through behind closed doors"

Anna didn't respond to what he said, but silently agreed to his statement. She was aware of the meeting and what was said ,but she still wasn't told what they all heard out of courtesy of the young girl's privacy. They labeled it as a family matter and kept their mouths sealed.

Sympathy was not Kazuya's strongest attribute. Long ago he would've told anyone that he didn't have any simply because that's what he believed. But it unsettled him whenever he was presented with situations like these because it reminded him of a time where he tore his once whole family apart, and estranged the rest of his relatives in the name of the very company he only owned half of. Now that was the only thing he had left. The rest of his family was gone. A big piece of him was gone, and it couldn't be filled with his ostracized son who wanted little to do with him. The fact Jin was able to see his face everyday was something of a miracle to the elder man. He was thankful to say the least, but there was no way he would be able to rekindle anything with him-that would be asking for too much-and Kazuya's pride was bigger than his own emotions so there would be no way he would even humble himself enough to ask for any sort of forgiveness...but God he wanted it. He wanted it more than anything, and it was only more sad in his opinion because it took him twenty-eight years to figure out that he would very much like to have his son's forgiveness.

Now that it was time for his own son to start considering the life he would have with Emilie Rochefort, it was already tarnished thanks to the obscurities that was her corrupted father.

"Keep an eye on her," Kazuya muttered. "you aren't to interfere in any way unless her life is at stake. It won't be long before those two are married off and she'll be under the care of myself and Jin"

Anna seemed to bristle slightly when he told her that she would be watching more of Emilie's treacherous ordeals against her father. If anything she would much rather be in the headquarters of Mishima Co. and putting off paperwork that she should be doing at this second, but instead...

Her eyes snapped to his as Kazuya lost himself in his thoughts once again. She noticed he was doing so more than often and wondered what he was thinking about. His mannerisms were all normal until this spectacular event came up and now it was like he was a completely different person. A lot more pensive and a lot less...vicious. The young heir of Rochefort Oil Inc. wouldn't be the only person she would be keeping an eye on.

* * *

><p>Jin was startled awake as a stack of papers were slammed hard on his desk. He glared his deadliest at his intruder and groaned inwardly as a familiar blonde penetrated his hazy vision.<p>

"Nina.." he said bitterly.

Her icy eyes stayed the same as she continued to look at him and take note of his completely exhausted state. "You didn't get enough sleep" she stated simply.

He managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "No one working in this place does," Nina gave him a blank and calming stare and this time he really did roll his eyes. "well except you Nina" he muttered under his breath.

She disregarded his words as part of his mood due to his sleepiness and instead referred to the fake papers on his desk that was really a guise for the pictures underneath. He shuffled the papers around a little and noticed the photos of the two people on them, recognizing those people almost instantly. Nina watched as her boss's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set into a thin straight line. The range of emotion that showed on his face almost unsettled the blonde woman, who wasn't use to such a reaction out of the usually stoic and calculative man but she kept her comments to herself and continued to observe.

"How did you finally find him?" he asked her while disdainfully tossing the photos to the side.

She looked at the suggestive photos and returned her gaze back to Jin who seemed to be steaming angrily. "He's a lot easier to find whenever the girl is present around these areas" she pointed to the mini-map on his desk and circled specific areas with her thin fingers. "he works here and leaves around eight, sometimes later if his job requires it. If this is the case, the girl will wait outside on another street in a black mercedes" she reported.

It didn't go past Nina's attention as she saw the twitch in Jin's dark eyebrow. He was irritated. She had her inferences on why, but one could never be sure and she could be completely wrong, but what she was thinking of was completely ridiculous and far-fetched. So she limited her wild mind and figured he was irritated because the man he was searching for was in association with his soon to be fiance and he couldn't really kill him off now that he knew she would be affected. He had no idea what their relationship was, and it wasn't like he wanted the man dead because he was a threat. He wanted him dead because he was annoying and kept getting in his way for the sole purpose of defeating him in a fight (which wouldn't happen for a long time unless the baboon grew a brain). The korean didn't _need_ to die, at least not in Nina's opinion. He would never be able to pose a threat to Mishima Co. and that enough didn't validate the loss of his life. Jin really just didn't want him around, but wouldn't admit it. Now that he knew the two were more than associate with each other instead of it being a passing friendship, he would rather want the auburn haired male dead.

Now, the young girl was inadvertently in the way of that too.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm literally writing the next story as soon as I upload this chapter. I've got a few good ideas for this storyline coming in later chapters and I really don't want to lose them. By the way, when Kazuya mentions that he's sad that it took him twenty-nine years to realize he wanted Jin's forgiveness I don't mean that he is twenty-nine. He is still very much forty-nine in this storyline, I just took away how old Jin is (21) from how old Kazuya had to have been to conceive him or see his birth (28), at least I think so if I did the math right haha ^^". Which also indicates that all Jin's life, Kazuya has been regretful of his actions.

...Come on people he's a grown man, at some point he has to feel bad about what he's done to Jin. I did this to at least make him seem human and I want my story to seem at the very most realistic and that is realistic to me. To hell with OOC-ness, I don't believe in that unless its a complete 180-flip from the original character herself/himself. Anyway, Happy Reading guys :)

~Sasusakui


	5. Chapter 5

Lover of the Dark

**Chapter 5**

The bare chest of strong male was pressed lightly against the slightly sweating cheek of Emilie Rochefort. Her breath was slightly haggard, and lewd sounding as it exited from her lips and her legs were on either side of the male's body as she lay on top of him. Her long hair stuck to the arch of her back and her blue eyes were dulled almost lifelessly from the extreme sense of euphoria and escasty not quite leaving her system yet. A hand, his hand, rested tiredly against the small of her back right above her backside almost possessively and he squeezed the tightness of it gently before attempting to sit up while she was still on him. The glare he got from her as he made more extra movement told him that what he was doing wasn't appreciated whatsoever, but soon the look of annoyance melted away.

He encircled his arms around her torso, liking the feel of her naked body against his bare chest, and pressed his hands lightly against her bare bottom. A pretty color painted her cheeks as he lifted her and placed her back on top of his length. She bit her bottom lip and let out a shaky breath, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as he began to control her body like a marionette; doing things that she had never done to him before. He must've been offly glad to see her thanks to the four months they went without seeing each other.

"We should stop doing this," she said through rough thrusts. "You know who really would raise hell if he ever found out about this"

He laughed stiffly before letting out a light moan to the tightness of her walls. "You're right. I could get you pregnant and that wouldn't be good for your big bad wolf fiance"

She somehow managed to throw him a glare before releasing a loud moan that contained the words 'fuck!,yes!, and aah! in them before responding to his previous comment. "Don't pretend you don't like the idea of me having your kid just to stick it to Jin. With how much you hate him you would do almost anything just to be a thorn in his side" she told him as he thrusted up and into her.

He captured her lips suddenly, making her almost draw back in surprise before returning the kiss with fervor. He broke the kiss and smiled a little at her. "I'm not as cruel as you think. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now in this hotel with you having the best sex of my life"

Before they both knew what hit them, they climaxed together and landed right back in the position they started in, breathing heavily as if they both participated in a marathon. A marathon they both just won. Lili traced shapes on the red-head's chest and he rubbed her bare shoulders like a lover would. The two enjoyed the down time they had with each other after sex ,but neither would admit it. Because that would lead to accusations of love for the other and they couldn't have that because it was impossible, it just was. In a different life Lili probably would've thought to marry this man, but her fate was sealed with Jin and there was nothing she could do about that so she settled for numerous hotel rooms with her friend until she could no longer and then the two would say goodbye forever.

"I know Jin is looking for me" he muttered out of the blue.

Her pretty blonde head lifted at his words and her mouth pouted a little in confusion. "Looking for you on what grounds?"

Hwoarang momentarily lost himself within the eyes of his female companion and found himself bringing her face in closer for a kiss, which he got. It was slow and sensual, his toes curling underneath her as she explored every crevice of his mouth with her tongue and he returned the favor. No, this wasn't love but maybe this was something akin to what it felt like. After she finally put a hand on his chest to stop him, she looked up at him with hooded blue eyes.

"Are you going to answer my question instead of trying to take my mind off it?" she asked coyly.

He chuckled somewhat and scratched the back of head before leaning it back on the large pillows behind him, lost in thought. "I'm not sure why. But I know he is. This is the first time he's ever sought me out instead of it being the other way around"

He peeked under his arm that was currently hiding his eyes from the sight of his beautiful companion and saw an expression there he'd never thought he'd see. "You're worried." he said quietly.

She shook her head no ,but the look in her eyes were still there. "No. I'm not its just-

"It's just that you're worried" he said with a soft smile.

He put a gentle hand on top of her head as she laid it back down on his chest, just breathing softly. Not responding to his accusations simply because they were true, but there would be no point in time would she voice how worried she really was. She'd never hear the end of it.

"I can take care of myself Lili," he told her reassuringly.

Her head shot up from his chest and he almost shivered at the cold glare she gave him. "Jin's reach is very far, further than just mine alone and you know I can't ask my father for anything without him expecting something in return. He can reach to the deepest crevice of whatever dark hole you crawl into and draw you out with cruel methods." her look softened after a few moments. "we have to be careful"

Hwoarang planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head and inhaled her feminine scent. "You have nothing to be worried about"

In response to his reassuring words she planted a kiss herself right over the spot where she knew his heart beat against her ear. "I thought I told you I'm not worried"

The auburn haired male didn't take too kindly to the news that Lili was being engaged to the second head of Mishima Co. he felt as if Lili's father didn't even want to have a daughter in the first place and she was purely a nuisance to whatever plan he had for that damned company. She was too fragile to put in the circle of wolves that was the Zaibatsu, he was afraid of the long term effects it would have on her mental psyche after the many years she spent under the thumb of her oppressive father, and he was afraid that the whole ordeal would change her and he would never see her as she was now in his arms.

His eyes gazed down her naked back and he noticed the bruises she had didn't really clear away yet. The first time he'd seen her naked body, there were other bruises in places where they shouldn't have been...places where an abuser would try to avoid if need be. Hwoarang had his hunches, and he was pretty sure they were right, but he just didn't want to believe them. Lili was honest with him when he asked about them, saying that her father got angry too often to be called human, and he left it at that. But she would leave promptly if he asked about the ones that were closest to her private areas. The same areas he would bruise himself in love. He could only imagine how pitiful she'd really feel if Jin ever saw her bruises, and knowing how stoic and stand-offish the man was firsthand, he wasn't quite sure how Jin would even handle such information.

* * *

><p>Kazuya was swamped with paperwork and couldn't stay focused on even one that simply needed his okay or not. That's what most of those sheets were anyway, asking his approval or not, and the others he actually had to use knowledge for. He tried shaking himself from his own thoughts and reached for the first sheet on the stack.<p>

"Fund-raiser for reserve funds" he read off slowly to himself. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and slightly nodded his head, "approved." He said while stamping it.

The sheets of paper after the one he approved were similar. His team was composed of college grads with professional or doctorate degrees and he would like to think that his employees were the brains of the entire company, without them the Zaibatsu would just be a treacherous powerhouse with no meaning behind its actions—no purpose. Jin's employees were not exactly qualified to be on his side of the office. His son had always said that he could find something useful in every type of person and that not all of them had to be college grads, Kazuya thought differently. He liked to be sure he was given what he was told he would be given and hated receiving otherwise. There was nothing else the man hated more than wasted time.

One example of wasted time, was the approval or denial sheet that somehow got in his work bin about a bachelor party being hosted in the heart of Zaibatsu. His right eyebrow twitched almost wildly. No and no. The sheet was in bits and pieces before Kazuya even noticed Jin in his office, hands in his pockets and lazily looking at him with mild interest. His eyes shooting back and forth between the haphazard sheets of paper and his father's on the verge snarl.

"You must've gotten the bachelor party suggestion" Jin mused.

Kazuya was irritated by the fact his son thought it was funny. "Yes I did. And I hope you wouldn't embellish in something so juvenile and stupid as a bachelor party"

"What's the harm?" Jin asked while waving his signed approved bachelor party suggestion in the air, "It's been—what, four years since they've had anything worth celebrating about around here? We take so much from them"

Jin met Kazuya's glare with a half hearted smirk and almost laughed aloud when he saw his father get even angrier. "We aren't here to give them 'breaks' and 'celebrations' Jin we're here to ensure that this company doesn't fall so low that Rochefort somehow manages to scoop it right from under us and there would be nothing that would shame us more" Kazuya seethed. "The man is not even within our family line and he still thinks he has the right to it"

"Edward is not nearly capable enough to run this company let alone steal it from us while we still both have our lives," Jin looked at him blankly. "There's a slow day on Wednesday of this week—

Kazuya opened his mouth to cut Jin off but was silenced by said man with the raise of a hand. "I cancelled everything that day, it wasn't much anyway and I looked at your schedule so I know you're pretty much free that day as well...if it makes you feel any better I can host it on my side of the building if the noise will bother you"

His father sighed and grunted in defeat. In favor of wanting his son to forgive (even though he knew full well that the prospect could be in the very distant future), he decided to just let Jin have his way and threw up his hands.

"If you want to waste a considerably constructive day for a senseless thing such as a bachelor party then be my guest, just don't expect me to make an appearance" Kazuya muttered.

Jin rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I wouldn't expect the impossible from you"

A glint in Kazuya's eye that Jin didn't catch meant all types of mischief as the next words exited his mouth. "Now that this is happening, you ever considered bringing a date to the event? It would seem odd if a bachelor like yourself showed up there without one"

Jin knew his father was more or less suggesting Emilie Rochefort but he wouldn't have it. "Her extracurricular activities might prevent her otherwise from showing up. Her soon to be fiancé is the furthest thing from her mind" the younger male stated sarcastically.

Kazuya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and before he could voice his questions, photos were thrown on his desk in front of him. His onyx eyes ran over the photos in less than a second and he instantly recognized the two people on them as Jin had previously. To say the least Kazuya was surprised.

"Baek-san's star pupil..." The elder man trailed. "Who would've thought" he mused.

Jin crossed his arms and held his head down in attempt to get his scrambling thoughts together. "They meet mostly on the weekends after he gets off, and as you can see..." He looked almost disdainfully at the photos on his father's desk. "Are very intimate"

Kazuya had to catch the bellowing laughter bubbling up his chest. How amusing was this?! The very man Jin hated was sleeping with his soon to be wife, and from the date on the top right corner of the pictures, this was after the young girl was told she would be married to Jin. He wondered if the auburn-haired kid knew.

"You two aren't married yet you know..." Kazuya chuckled a bit. "It's a little soon to start being possessive over someone who isn't yours until—mid June?"

"I'm not being possessive" Jin growled. "I've never liked him before her and I probably still won't like him after her. I don't know why I haven't killed him sooner"

Kazuya shook his head. "Am I wrong to assume why all of a sudden you want this man's head on a platter?"

Jin's deadly glare was as good of an answer as any and Kazuya couldn't help but chuckle at how mad his son seemed to get in terms of that tall and model looking blonde that happened to be Lilian's splitting image. The elder man's eyes drifted down to the pictures again and he felt himself getting light-headed.

There were three photos in all ,but the elder man couldn't stop himself from glancing at the very last one of the stack. It showed the Rochefort heir and Baek's pupil in a hotel. They left their windows open and the photographer was able to get a full shot, showing the gleam of the blonde's arched back as she straddled her partner's lap. Her head was thrown to the side and her lips were parted mid-moan, her eyes were closed as her long lashes brushed against her cheek, and her shining hair was hoisted in the hands of her lover's. A dangerous thought was on the rise of entering his mind and he sighed in relief as his son quickly stomped over to snatch the pictures up from his possession.

Kazuya watched as Jin stuffed the photos inside his back pocket and sighed. "If it really bothers you so much why don't you just make the call now and get it over with. If I can recall you've been planning his death for a long time...have you considered the possible outcomes of taking his life now knowing his association to Emile?"

"I don't care" Jin muttered while walking out abruptly.

* * *

><p>"That little..tramp!"<p>

Sebastian jumped slightly as Edward's roar of anger rivabrated throughout the whole room. His hands were clammy underneath his pressed white gloves and his posture shook a little, it didn't go unnoticed how the other maids seemed to disappear out of nowhere either.

Shards of broken glass littered the emerald green carpeted floor and more porcelain trinkets were being thrown around as Sebastian's angry master went around his office in a blind fury. The butler feared the worst when the male following his young ward around reported back to Edward and told him the news. Prone to his habits, Edward took the news on the chin and waved his hand at the prospect as if it were nothing new and he already knew about it, but Sebastian wouldn't be fooled like the rest.

He could see the bottomless pit of anger behind his bright blue eyes and the clenching and un clenching of his jaw as his skin started to turn a shade of beet red. His veins pulsed with life and beads of sweat started to line his forehead, honestly the person spying on Lili was clueless enough and wouldn't notice her father's anger even if Edward decided to shoot him dead on the spot.

Edward now sat at his scratched mahagony desk and buried his head in his hands, grumbling incomprehensible words to himself like a mad man, Sebastian could practically see the madness oozing out of him like a poison.

"She's trying to leave me just like her mother did, Sebastian" Edward spoke aloud. "She wants to leave me for another and I won't have it, I won't" he muttered darkly.

The butler didn't reply to her father's ramblings and considered it best if he didn't indulge in his rampage. It would only be adding fuel to the continuously growing fire—a fire he was sure no one else could put out. Absolutely no one. Suddenly Edward's head shot up to meet Sebastian and he seemed to trace something within the butler's eyes that didn't exist—a guilt that wasn't even there.

"Did you know about this?!" He whispered incredulously.

Sebastian returned the man glazed over eyes with a cool look, a look that a serial killer would probably give his next victim. "No sir. I hardly see Miss Lili outside of these walls and I am not with her when she is. The only person who would know would be the person you previously spoke with and Miss Lili herself"

Edward seemed to soak up these words and accept them for what they were, he almost started to feel crazy for thinking his senile butler would know something like that about his whore daughter. "I want them both Sebastian...I never want this Korean rat to touch my daughter the way I do ever again"

Sebastian was deeply concerned by the drastic turn his master's mind was taking. It was as clear as day that the man was insane and that Lilian fell in love with him and possibly gave birth to a mad child, but that wasn't fair. He reprimanded himself internally for even remotely relating the father and the daughter together in any way other than the fact that Edward is Lili's father. Of course young Lili had more of her mother in her than she would ever have her father and that was a compliment all in itself.

"I want him dead Sebastian...and I want Emilie locked in her room until I say otherwise" the man commanded.

His completely impossible demands was dragging something old and ancient out of the kind butler, what Edward was asking him to do yet not directly was something that was beyond him now. Everything in his body told him now was the time to finally oppose Edward in favor of Lilian's only child, and he did love her once. He owed it to her. The butler opened his mouth to say something, finding his voice long forgotten in the pit of his stomach, but his words suddenly caught in his throat. Thinking about speaking out against his master and actually doing so were two totally different things, and soon more of his words were being crammed down his throat as Edward looked up at him questioningly. His lips pursing in wonder as his blue eyes seem to twitch with growing madness.

"Sebastian?" he called.

The butler's eyebrows rose in question, sweat beading alongside them. "Yes, sir?"

"You heard me correct?" he cleared his throat behind a closed fist. "I want Emilie brought to me and I want that bastard's head on a spear by the time you're through with him"

The butler bowed low at the hip and he lamented at the fact his hands were now more so tied behind his back than before, his command was direct this time and any more moments hesitation would be even more suspicious. "As you command"

He turned to leave ,but was halted by Edward calling him back. "Hold on.."

"Yes?" Sebastian answered, not yet turning around to face the blonde haired male.

"I'm sure you know the reason why you were taken in by the Celeste's so many years ago, I know all about it because my dear Lilian once told me"

The sound of his lover's name rolling off his tongue made Sebastian's skin crawl and he struggled with his inner self, something he hadn't had to deal with for as long as he'd been serving the Celeste's, a self that hadn't come up until now and ached for the blood of Lili's father. Everything within him shouted to slit the man's throat right at that moment, but Sebastian swallowed his dignity, pride, and bloodlust.

"Your purpose is to protect the family line of the Celeste's no matter how extended it may be. Any amount of Celeste blood counts which includes the fathers of the children who never inherit the Celeste name through marriage" Edward told him things the butler already knew. "I'm lucky enough to have had a daughter with Lilian and was more than frightened when I heard she was only going to bear one child—a child I was sure was going to be a son"

Sebastian swallowed thickly. "Sons do not get the Celeste name. Only the females do. Even if a Celeste were to have two sons, neither of them would receive the name, but if one of those sons were to have a daughter of their own then she would receive the family name...and so on"

Edward nodded in confirmation of his butler's statement. "I've heard the tales of you Sebastian, whispered in the halls of this very mansion where the women of the family would meet and talk in secret about your past. A secret that has been passed down the line and stopped right before Lili, she doesn't know who you really are..."

"What exactly are you saying?" Sebastian asked him. "What good will it do to expose her to my past?"

A glint in Edward's eye that Sebastian missed entirely due to his back being turned towards him. "She will know your past if she continues to defy me. She'll know it first-hand and very personally"

A cold shiver went through Sebastian's entire body at the prospect of his ward's fate. If she thought she was truly caged by her father then, there would be no words for how caged she would feel when she would never step foot out of her shared home with her father ever again until her marriage to the young CEO of Mishima Zaibatsu was final. Sebastian could only bow once more to Edward and finally make his leave of his office, his words of protest dying once more in his throat.

"As you wish"

* * *

><p>AN: Hello hello! I hope you guys enjoyed this installment of this Tekken storyline! I am sorry for the long wait and plan to make it up to certain people who are familiar with my work, including those who are not. Those who are _not_ familiar with my work will hopefully get an update very soon, I'm talking maybe two days tops of my undivided attention to the next update of this story. Those who _are_ familiar with my work will get an update of Optional Abyss (a Naruto fanfiction I've left alone for a little while) and I'm pretty sure you guys are angry enough at me for not updating that one.

Happy Reading everyone! ~Sasusakui


	6. Chapter 6

Reaper of the Past

**Chapter 6**

"Somehow I feel as if something bad will happen" The young blonde spoke to her lover as they both sat in her black Mercedes. She frowned softly when she never got a response from him and turned momentarily to face him. He had flat out ignored her and she took the rude action on the tip of her chin, there were worse things he could do that would cut at her. She sighed and felt grateful that at least the traffic wasn't too bad at the moment.

The tinted windows of the vehicle helped a lot with the privacy issue for the two, but the Rochefort family insignia was a dead giveaway and the young blonde ignored the jaw-drop reactions as she rolled pass commoners. Meanwhile, her sulking lover had his arm on the nearby armrest of the car and his eyes narrowed angrily into the distance out the window. She gazed at him through her peripheral and stared longer than she should've, thinking how handsome he looked when he was upset with her. His legs had a lot of room so he made a point to have his legs spread out and the tip of his pinky sat on the top of his bottom lip, luckily for her she knew where his attitude was stemming from.

His ripped dark jeans sat low on his hips and the off black fringed sleeved vest he wore accentuated his biceps nicely, underneath he wore a plain white v-neck and on his feet were fresh timberlands courtesy of her. His ruffled auburn hair laid in soft ringlets and trailed a little ways down the nape of his neck. A sparkle caught her eye and after looking at the road very quickly to make sure she was in the right lane, she returned her attention back to her lover's ears that were occupied with square earrings just his size (again courtesy of her). She smiled fondly at the reminiscence that they were gifts for his twentieth birthday, and she was proud that she presented them to him in a way he couldn't refuse and those two-point ten carat, square brilliant, black diamonds have remained in his ears since then.

Tires upturned gravel as she pulled at the corner of the next street over from his job and he shifted, the frown on his face not moving. They were in a somewhat secluded area, being between two narrow buildings and all while at the same time being under an over path. Just a crosswalk away from the two was Hwoawang's job, a nice five star restaurant that had a reputation all of its own and he made decent tips there as a waiter. Lili could remember vaguely when her father took her to dinner there once, before his illness took place, and the young blonde spotted her former opponent heading towards them with a tray in his hand. They recognized each other instantly, but both were able to keep their facial expressions calmly composed and together. The act was so brilliant that not even Edward caught on to the air of the two before the waiter calmly excused himself and went away. They were both shocked to say the least, but didn't think about the incident anymore afterwards.

The korean male always got upset when it was time for them to part. It was a short moment when they were together and a long time when they were away from each other, he wondered if this would possibly be the last time they saw each other. She twisted and turned her keys from the ignition and the whole vehicle rumbled to rest and the real silence enshrouded the two. He didn't move to leave her side yet and she didn't pester him to, they just sat and kind of wondered who would try to leave first when neither really wanted to. As much as Lili wanted to be normal with him and go out normally with him, she had to constantly keep reminding herself that the two of them together had little to no chances of becoming official. She was going to be married to one of the most powerful men in the world soon and she wouldn't be able to continue sneaking around with her ex-opponent and short time friend. It may have worked with her father but it would never get past Jin and she wouldn't be surprised if the man already knew.

Lili needed an out from the whole situation. The marriage, her father, Sebastian..everything and she considered broaching the subject with her lover knowing that she wasn't anywhere near her "_family_" to hear anything said.

The thought of never seeing his girl again made a strange tearing feeling grab at his chest and hold him at attention to the here and now moment. They were together, in her car, sitting in mildly comfortable silence, and he found himself unable to leave her side. It was as if he knew for a fact that as soon as he turned his back on her he would turn around and see her being dragged away by the hulking figure of her father. Everything in him wanted to help her, protect her, but this was something he couldn't possibly get involved with too deeply. He was already knee deep in the sticky tar that was the _oh-so-powerful_ Jin Kazama who was still on the lookout for him (so he heard) and knowing Jin's dangerous resources that were now combined with his powerful menace of a father. Hwoawang's logical mind should've been telling him to back out a long time ago, hell, it still was, he just couldn't bring himself to. He gained so much respect from her already and that was't such an easy task in the first place, and when they first started secretly seeing each other he just knew it couldn't stop there between them. Any talk of anything serious though had the both of them scurrying for the hills though and both made up excuse after excuse as to why they couldn't pursue anything bigger and better than what they already had.

"I'm gonna go back to Iron Fist soon" she announced suddenly.

His reaction to the news was slow, but a resistance was still as clear as day on his face. "What the hell are you thinking?" he asked incredulously without raising his voice. "The Iron Fist Tournaments...hasn't helped your situation at all. If anything you've made more enemies because of it" he said with a flick of the wrist

"It's gonna help me now! ," she snapped. Then she softened a bit, "Besides it's not like I have any other choice in the matter without my father always being around. I need an out and Iron Fist is it"

He snorted in mock amusement. This was his way of being protective about her decisions that could get her in deeper trouble with her already unstable father. "There's no way your father would have you compete in it and he would find out eventually now that he's in good health and if he finds out all hell would break loose, plus there's the concern of you losing a match"

She corrected him. "I don't lose. That one match against that Asuka girl was a complete fluke"

He scoffed. "Please don't feed me that _Platinum Grace _crap, the name will only take you so far, and she won that match fair and you know it" he said dismissively.

"You've seen me fight and I've fought you once before too, I'm nothing to laugh at and I do acknowledge my weaknesses but now that I know what I'm fighting for is something greater than my father," she paused and swallowed thickly. "I can't afford to lose anything" she uttered.

Hwoawang didn't know how much his respect for her could grow until he realized that the pit of it was bottomless. It was a noble cause when she announced the first time that she was fighting for her father who had a stroke and was on his sickbed for an undetermined amount of time, but it was even more admirable when one was fighting for their freedom at the cost of something very high. The Korean almost felt like she was too brilliant for him and her radiance was almost unbearable, now the thought of her being handed off to someone whose conscious was blacker than the murkiest water sounded so foreign in his mind, when before he had reluctantly accepted the fact that she was going to be married soon and he would have limited time with her.

This was what he was afraid of, and it was already happening. He got accustomed to her, use to her soft chuckle that was filled with mirth or the slight teasing at his expense, the way she touched him, the way she looked at him while she stared up into his eyes from his chest, and the way she felt when she was with him. For all of that to be given up to Jin was something Hwoarang almost couldn't tolerate, better yet, he wouldn't _accept_ it.

He shook his head and let out a cynical laugh. "Eventually you'll have to face one of _those_ two. They may run a company but they still have a reputation to uphold, everyone who knows about Iron Fist knows that those too are at the very top" his eyes shot towards her to watch her reaction and sighed when he saw a thin line of a frown across her face. She was bothered by the fact he didn't like her plan of trying to maneuver out of her father's watchful gaze.

"I can't wait any longer for this to happen. Do you know how long it's been since I knew what freedom felt like? When I could come and go as I please without my father telling me I had certain days where I can leave that prison of a place. I can't wait another day—another second with him. The Iron Fist money will help me in case he threatens to cut me off, which he will do finally once I'm with Jin. He can't know that I'll have some funds to fall back on as a cushion" she told him with a determined gaze.

He crossed his arms in thought and saw the logic to it, he still didn't like it but he did see why she was so eager to be away from the only family she had left. Her father was like a poison to her psyche and her emotional well-being, not to mention physically as well. "What about all the money you make doing that modeling stuff? Your face is everywhere and you have the looks for any job you want, money should literally be falling in your lap"

"My father keeps all of it because he knows I can leave him with it, and I would never look back" she sighed and scratched mildly at the loose ponytail that occupied the top of her head.

Silence settled around the two once more except it wasn't so pleasant this time, and the red head found himself shifting uncomfortably in her presence. He would be late if he kept himself idle with Lili knowing his job was nothing but a crosswalk away. She sighed and turned to face him, dark brown, rectangular shaped, tinted shades sat on the middle of her nose and he found it hard to see through them to make out her eyes. Somewhere though he knew those icy blues were looking only at him and seeing straight through.

She reached one of her ivory hands to touch the side of his face and he allowed it, liking the way her cool touch met with his warm flesh. He felt her start to lightly pull his face and he leaned towards her, meeting lips sweetly with his palm lightly pressing against her slender jawline.

"You'll be late dilly-dallying with me" she told him after she broke the kiss herself. "And I have to get back home before my father sends Sebastian. Knowing him he probably already has"

He didn't miss the slight grimace on her face about the butler he once heard fond things about from her mouth, but he left it up to her when and how she wanted to tell him about that when she decided to. The red head nodded and opened the door of her car, swung his legs out, and slipped out of her atmosphere. He closed the door behind him and a heavy weight settled on his chest. He started walking towards his job, getting further and further away and she was all he could think of as he kept making a distance away from her world.

He eventually got to the door of his job and walked inside. Immediately, he was assaulted with the mixture of smells that wafted towards him from the kitchen. A couple of customers were already there and talking softly, some looking up to see who had just walked in some losing interest at the sight of him, and others (mainly females) lingering their eyes on his form for a moment longer before returning their attention back to something else.

His footsteps led him all the way to the back of the place, past the kitchen, and down the fairly long hallway to the locker rooms where he would change into his uniform and start the day with a foreboding feeling in his chest with Lili's words from earlier echoing repeatedly in his mind, _"...Something bad will happen" _He hoped she wasn't referring to herself.

* * *

><p>Wednesday was right around the corner and Jin was actually regretting his decision on clearing his whole schedule to help out with the bachelor party. His help was no longer needed at the moment and it left his mind open to think about things he would rather put off until he finally got home.<p>

The pictures that still laid stiff in his back pocket seemed to burn hotly through his jeans and he sighed, it confused him that his mind was still on them at all. He drew up conclusion upon conclusion and none of them was making sense no matter how hard he kept trying to jam it into his mind. Growing frustrated and temporarily mad with rage, he snatched them up from his pockets and held them in the palm of his hand. He concentrated and felt a familiar pulsating at the base of his forehead, a growl of pain rumbling from his mouth, and soon a sizzling smell of burning wax paper followed after. It was risky using his powers in the office ,but he knew how to be discreet. Luckily for him, it wasn't loud enough to be heard by the human ear. Jin felt satisfied as soon as the small pile of ash was what was left of the photos, if there were more (which he was sure Nina had) then he didn't want to know about them and he would continue to deny their existence for as long as he could.

Jin swiveled around in his office chair to watch the city below him and he squinted against the light shining off the hoods of the cars. He was really starting to regret his decision now and there was no way he could reverse the effect either, the constant ticking of the clock he had up on the wall made his decision that much more irrational. He hated to admit his father was right and what annoyed him even more was the fact that Kazuya had a full schedule going for him and he sometimes caught the elder man walking in and out of his office with stacks of paper in his hands. Jin felt so jealous. What the hell was he thinking?

Head now in his hands, Jin was simply breathing when someone literally barged through his office doors and slammed both hands down on his desk. Anger seeped out of him as he hadn't turned around yet to meet his assailant but his eyes flickered to the littering sheets of paper that were previously on his desk but now on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he thought to avenge them and turned around to yell at whoever the hell thought they had any right to just come into his office whenever they pleased.

He opened his mouth but was beaten to the punch when his younger cousin invaded his sight. His eyebrows rose in surprise. She was there in his office wearing her typical school uniform but she was suppose to be all the way in Osaka and not back in Tokyo until the summer.

"Jin you massive idiot!" She screamed to the top of her lungs.

The dark haired male didn't flinch at the venom in her voice ,but he did sigh at the stoping and staring co-workers who were gathered at his door and slowly peeking in his office to see what the fuss was about. He calmly stood and walked around her, slamming his door in the process, before turning around to see Asuka standing in front of him with her arms crossed. One of his breaths got caught in his throat and it was then that he knew the onslaught of whatever his cousin said next would make sure to give him a headache later on.

"You married that big headed girl?!" She all but screeched. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Immediately Jin knew whom and what she was talking about. "We're technically not married yet, we're engaged"

She threw up her gloved hands. "Same difference! And you never answered my question!"

He walked back towards his desk and laced his fingers together under his chin, a brooding stare making Asuka cower slightly. "What I do to keep this company afloat doesn't concern you Asuka" he said simply.

Her face turned red with fury as she clenched her fists, not catching on to the subtle answer to her original question. "This has everything to do with me. That girl has got it out for me and now all of a sudden I hear from fucking entertainment news that you're going to be married to that..._monster_. Why didn't I hear this from you?!"

"Because it doesn't concern you like I said Asuka" his voice lowered a bit and his eyes avoided her form for a moment. "You don't know her"

Her eyebrows rose at him and her mouth popped open in mock surprise. "And you do? You have no idea how manipulative she is and the fact that you're even considering this damn marriage justifies that her father is just going to use her to sink his fangs into this company" she said air quoting the word company. The action made one of the sides of Jin's lips twitch and she continued to push the envelope with him. "This whole thing is a sham and you'll be lucky if any of this comes out on top, you're making a deal with the devil"

"So, _what_, you just came all the way from Osaka just to annoy me about what I'm doing? I don't have time for this Asuka" he said irritably.

Her whole mouth twitched the same way Jin's dead and her fists shook even more as she turned on her heel to walk away. "Yeah you never do. Never time for your family" she said over her shoulder.

Jin knew where she was headed next and rolled his eyes, he was at least happy Kazuya would receive the same earful he did. When she did leave, she made a point to slam his office door hard enough to cause a crack to appear on it which angered her cousin more than he thought he would be by the action. He had to keep his breathing under control as he felt himself start to change prematurely. It was a usual habit for him to have his anger under control but certain things lately were starting to set him off when before he would've looked the other way and not cared at all. When and where did the change start he wondered.

Absent-mindedly he reached up to rub the side of his neck and his eyes widened when he felt the deep indentations. His mind immediately went back to the time when he looked in the mirror and saw the bruise, but now it seemed to be much worse. It actually felt like a bite that was deep enough to leave behind its shape ,but not deep enough to have broken any skin. He went slower over the sore area and could actually feel every single dent and crevice teeth would make, it definitely felt real. Popping his collar, he covered the mark away from any prying eyes that may or may not be watching as he exited his office and walked amongst the various sized cubicles of his employees. It was time to make an announcement.

* * *

><p>Kazuya wrote at least twenty five pages of reasons why he shouldn't completely destroy a sister company to Zaibatsu and hoped its owner would understand the non-subtle hint he was trying to make. He wasn't too keen on stepping on a business partner's toes to make a point ,but he wasn't completely against it. If that's what it took to send out a message not to get in his and his son's way then that's what he would do.<p>

He was about to call Anna in to quickly get his letter to the sister company before his niece burst into the room. The frown that settled in on his face at the audacity of her was picture worthy as the sight of her morphed his face into something else: curiosity.

"Ah. My favorite _niece_" he muttered. "You weren't suppose to be back here from Osaka until Summer. Why are you here?" He already knew the answer but he wanted to test the young girl and see what she would say.

Her completely red face and almost frazzled expression was answer enough, but Kazuya was not a man to be easily satisfied. "Well since my dear old cousin won't tell me why that manipulative _bitch_ is somehow going to interject herself into my family I decided to come to you..._uncle_"

Kazuya's head cocked to the side as he looked at her trying to see under her bangs and into her eyes. "What exactly did Jin say to you when you went to him?" He asked her.

"He said it was none of my concern, just like that, but it is! He hasn't opened up to me once! And for as long as I can remember he's hated you with every bone in his body, yet he can stand to be in the same building as you. On top of that, I don't even find out from him firsthand that he's going to marry that privileged blonde bitch that'll bleed everyone around her dry" she said with a bite, her voice raising every time she mentioned the Rochefort heir.

Kazuya's eyebrows rose at the vulgar language that flew out of his niece's mouth and settled on a signature smirk that made a strong shiver run up and down Asuka's spine. She was starting to regret getting in way over her head and getting on the first plane from Osaka that presented itself. When the news first appeared on tv all she could see was that magazine cover regal blonde on a side by side next to her cousin—her family member, and the red bold letters: marriage. She had dropped everything, stopped thinking about whatever she was thinking about and just froze. Then anger rolled and swelled like a tsunami inside of her and the rest was a blur, the next thing she knew she was standing in front of the imposing size of Mishima Zaibatsu.

Now she was standing in front of her uncle who had this look in his eye that usually meant he was going to do something in honor of his amusement at the expense of someone else. She bit the inside of her cheek and completely collapsed inside of herself in Kazuya's presence. Asuka looked and felt every bit of vulnerable in front of her relative.

"Jin has a lot on his plate right now, but he has a free spot in his schedule on Wednesday where he'll be more willing to speak to you then"

* * *

><p>Sebastian watched his young ward from afar as she continued to sit in her car long after her lover had gone inside of the restaurant. He vaguely wondered why she was still there and figured she was too afraid to go back home. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the luxury of just sitting there basking in her temporary freedom.<p>

She would never know he was only but a few feet away because he happened to be well versed in the art of not only keeping a watchful eye on people, but giving off the impression that he was just a butler trying to get by with his life as it crested and neared its end.

The young miss was surprised when a shadow passed over her side of the window and quickly looked to see who could've been possibly planning to break through and snatch her from the vehicle. When she didn't see anyone, her heart beat died down a bit and she covered her chest in relief. She took off her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes and was spooked into dropping them when a polite knock on her window made her jump.

The sight of Sebastian standing there in his normal butler uniform made Lili's heart jump straight into her throat. Her face blanched and she paled to a sickly shade of ivory white. She'd been found.

Shaky fingers found the button on her armrest to lower the window all the way down so she could speak to her once valued ally. "Sebastian" she muttered his name slowly.

His polite smile couldn't mean what it appeared as he leaned forward on her windowsill to tell her a piece of news that would greatly upset her. "Your father has told me to come and retrieve you, miss."

"The three day mark isn't up yet" she said quietly, avoiding his unwavering stare. "I have two days left..."

He admired her honest words for her freedom, but nothing would save her from her actions of rebellion. "_He knows_ Emilie" he told her almost affectionately. "You've been found out by the last person who needed to know anything"

She gulped and her throat clenched painfully, making tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I don't—

"If you lie to me, or attempt to at this moment I will go in that restaurant right now and rip that pretty little boy's throat right out and paint the insides of that establishment red" he said with growing irritation. The stunned silence and obvious fear in her eyes made him continue. "As I said. Your father knows about your daylight and midnight escapades and wants his head on a silver platter, and he wants me to give it to him and you as well. You will never see the light of day again until you're saved by the clutches of that black demon"

Tears dripped on the leather of her seats as she looked down at her lap. Her vision blurred more as she realized the saddening depth of her situation. "I never knew...you were—

His hand shot out quickly as he reached for her jaw and tightly held it in his grip. She cried out in surprise and then in pain as the pressure from his unbreakable grasp increased as he looked at her with eyes of annoyance. "There are many things you don't know about Emilie, dark things that would forever change the way you look at life for years to come, but you are shielded from those truths because I protect you out of obligation to your mother. If it means I must keep you under your father's wrath then I will do so..."

"You claim to want to keep me safe yet you'll keep me with that tyrant on a rampage for power!" She snapped at him.

He released her chin lightly and she rubbed the sore spot. Sebastian was done talking to her for now and he found that a weight off his chest had been lifted at the fact that Lili now knew what he was really like—how vulgar and ruthless he really was. Lilian had died not knowing who he was underneath the surface, and somehow he felt as if he was making up for it now by scaring the life out of her only daughter with the truth.

His legs led him to the other side of her warm car as he opened the passenger door to it and sat inside. She bristled at his close proximity and did her best not to look at him directly, there was a stranger in her car. "It's time to go. Your time of frolicking is over and your father is out for blood"

Her hands connected with the steering and he didn't miss the way they shook as she removed one to turn on the ignition. "Yes, he's only out to spill mine"

Sebastian looked at her from the corner of his eye and let her comment hang limp in the air, instead he tried to reassure her through further scaring her much to his now no knowledge of human emotion. "I would never let him kill you"

_But everything else under the sun is fine._ Her once allied butler looked at her expectantly and she sighed while stepping on the gas. She pulled away from the nearby curb and passed a green light. The whole way home was a long and quiet ride, and a small trickle of sweat slowly made its way down her back.


	7. Chapter 7

Dance the Dance of Death

**Chapter 7**

As far as Lili could tell, she was completely numb from the waist down, and her rib cage felt as if it were punturing her most important vitals. It was painful for her to gulp down air as her throat constricted painfully at her attempt and more tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

The other maids were forbidden from wrapping her bandages and caring for her wounds, although, the young blonde was sure they were all worshipping whatever God they believed in over the fact that it wasn't them that her father showed his attention to.

**:::**

When she got home earlier that day, she wasn't surprised by how angry her father was. She hadn't stepped inside her home five strides before the hulking figure of Edward towered over her and his strong arms snatched her up. Her scream sounded loudly like a bell toll as a knee-jerk reaction and immediately she began to beg for her father's forgiveness, but he was far too disgusted with her—all he saw in front of him was her mother. He tore the clothes off her back and threw them on the floor, thousand dollars worth of material just lying in tatters across the floor.

She sat naked and bare on the floor at the feet of her father and shivered at the cold the marble floors sent through her. Glistening blue eyes then looked slowly up at the mural of her mother before Edward descended upon her as he often did in actions of lewdness, brute force, and hair pulling, further scarring his daughter more than she would ever be.

Now here she lay on top of her sheets completely nude and planked. She hadn't showered since that night because her father told her she couldn't, in his words: _"Only pure women get to shower, whores will stay dirty no matter how much they scrub"_, she could no longer cry after what he'd said. She was still mulling over the fact that noises of pleasure came from her mouth as he stared hard at her from between the valley of her thighs. Her fingers pulled at his roots until she shivered all the way down to her toes and the white of her eyes showed.

"Is this the spot where he was? Did he lick you here too?" He said as he lapped.

She squirmed and he held fast to her fleshy thighs, keeping them in a grip in which she would never escape from as long as he was the one holding on to them. He plunged his tongue inside and her eyes flew open, her mouth popping open in ecstasy. Her juices flowed along the sides of his mouth and the tickle of his facial hair made Lili moan once more. He grew hard and wasted no time in wiggling out of his white slacks to push himself inside of her tight walls.

It didn't dawn on her that she permitted those sounds to come from her mouth until he began to chuckle darkly when he finished. She had proven his point without her even knowing and without him even speaking what she herself proved to be true. He had stared down at her huskily as she laid sprawled on the floor in her own filth and his own, not even taking into account her ugly sobs and emotional pain so deep that it wrecked her body with violent quakes. He turned his back on her and left her to herself. There was no need to haul her upstairs himself knowing that she wouldn't attempt to go anywhere in her state.

In the end, it was her that picked up her limbs and tired body and walked upstairs. Wood creaked softly underneath her weight and her soft hands lightly placed themselves along the banister as she went up. Her hair, tousled and tangled after her father continuously yanked on it, hung in broken strands around her shoulders and back. She finally reached her double doors and gently closed them behind her as she entered her room. It took everything in her not to fling herself onto her bed knowing the very action would insure she would be in more pain, so she stuck to the painfully slow pace she set towards her bed.

As soon as her face hit the surface of her sheets, she was out like a light. Unconscious from the merciless beating her father gifted her with.

**:::**

Some hours later as she remained undisturbed her eyes flew open and she was awake. Minutes had bled together and she couldn't even decipher what time it was even as the sun began to set from the view of her windows.

She tried wiggling her toes and she relaxed a little as she realized the action didn't cause her pain. Her limbs went next and a feeling of relief surged through her as she didn't feel any pain from there either. She sat her torso up and stretched, feeling bones pop and creak back into place.

Lili looked longingly at her bathroom archway and she jumped when her room door suddenly opened to reveal Sebastian. She turned away from him and covered herself modestly as she unconsciously shook in nervousness. He hadn't bothered to knock nor announce himself and he was also wearing just his slim, black butler pants, black polished shoes, and pressed white button up with the the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. In his hand was a plain black shopping bag with white wrapping paper sticking up at the top.

He jostled it a little to get her attention and smiled inwardly as she peeked behind her to look at him without exposing herself. "What are you doing in here?" She questioned.

"It's been brought to your father's attention that your fiancé is hosting a bachelor party for one of his employees at Mishima Zaibatsu and he wants you to make an appearance"

He tossed the bag to her and it landed at her dangling feet on the other end of the bed. She looked down at the object and narrowed her eyes. "Can I shower?" She asked spitefully.

"You may" Sebastian permitted.

She took her chance and hopped off her bed, no longer caring that Sebastian was still standing in her room as she crossed it and headed towards her grand bathroom.

* * *

><p><strong>—12:30pm—<strong>

An irritated Jin was not a good thing at all. The space around him was visibly chilling and his employees, plus some of Kazuya's, made a point not to stand near him or anywhere in his general vicinity. Everyone knew it was his biggest pet peeve to be kept waiting or having him scramble to get something prepared when the deadline got pushed up for no good reason. Well, the latter is what occurred that evening.

Jin was at home, doing absolutely nothing other than relaxing and having Nina check in on him every once in awhile before he got a notification on his phone. It was a forwarded message from the engaged employee who the party was for and he groaned while opening the text. The content read as shown:

_'I'm so sorry guys! But we have to have the bachelor party tonight! My fiancé wants our wedding date pushed up so that means the party must get pushed up as well. There isn't any other day I can do this so it has to be tonight. Please make this happen for me guys' ~Kaito._

To say Jin was mad was an understatement. He was up and down on his decision to cancel everything he had to do that week and went from okay with it to not okay with it, back to being okay with it, and now he no longer had the choice anymore. Even if he suddenly wasn't okay with doing nothing anymore, he didn't have the decision to call in some work from Nina because the stupid party was now instead of later.

"Goddamnit" he muttered while getting off the couch.

Before he could even take two steps towards his bedroom to start getting ready, Nina suddenly appeared and Jin's heart jumped in his throat. His hand was inches away from her neck and her cool eyes met his hand in question, her eyebrows raised. He sighed and dropped his hand back to his side.

"Nina," he said her name slowly. "I recall telling you not to do shit like that in my home, I really considered killing you just now"

She cocked her head to the side at his comment. "Then who would do your work for you? ," she walked past him and sat on a barstool that wasn't too far from him. "I got the message from Kaito"

He sighed more and rolled his eyes, right, he was suppose to get dressed. "So did I"

Jin walked away from her and felt eyes on his bare back. His naked feet padded their way softly down the dark hall and into his large, white carpeted room on the right. He was at least glad he didn't have to shower again since he already did so earlier, with that thought in mind he went straight to his closet.

Jin's closet probably closely resembled a fashion runway, despite the man's tendencies to ignore or overlook the popular brand names that everyone else wished they could afford to wear. The plush carpet underneath his feet was a light cream and sank between his toes as he made his way towards the left side of the room, the shirt side. It wasn't anything formal so he grabbed a white pressed, long sleeved button up and a black blazer, then walking over to the right side, grabbed some dark jeans. Oh how he loved his jeans, he probably had more different colored jeans than the average male but that's what made up for his lack of want in popular names of clothing.

He dropped the clothes he picked out on a nearby sitting chair and shrugged off his long black sleeping pants, revealing his deep purple briefs. His leg was just entering the left jean leg before Nina decided to walk in and calmly stand at the doorway of his closet. Jin stopped what he was doing momentarily and looked up at her, narrowing his eyes as he did so. There was no need for him to explain to her why she was in the wrong in this situation , it was fairly apparent, and she knew so which is why she didn't utter a word.

Sighing, Jin resumed pulling up his pants and letting them sit right on his waist and reaching for his shirt before the blonde herself snatched the article of clothing up. Knowing what she was going to do with it, he bared his back to her (as well as showing a sign of trust through body language) and let her slim fingers guide his white shirt over his arms and across his shoulders. She walked in front of him and didn't hesitate to button his bare chest away from view, of course leaving a couple of buttons undone the way he liked.

He sat down in the now empty sitting chair with his sleep pants neatly hanging over the back of it, onyx eyes watching his blonde protector as she quietly looked for some shoes to put on his feet. His eyes followed the sculpt and curve of her naked calves, her thighs, and her rump accentuated with the tight gray business skirt she wore below the slightly poofy white button up she wore herself. It suddenly occurred to him why he hadn't thrown a glance at her sooner and notice how attractive she was. Nina was by no means a plain Jane, she's an eye-catcher, so what about her made him overlook her as if she were any other woman?

"You should get that looked at" Nina said shaking him out of his own thoughts.

He ran a hand through his hair. "What are you talking about?"

While standing on top of a stool to get a better look at his collection of shoes, Nina didn't miss a beat and pointed to the side of her neck. The hair on the back of Jin's neck bristled and he felt a sudden need to defend the mark's right to be where it was.

"It's nothing serious" he calmly told her.

She paused her actions for a moment, looked at him blankly and the mark on his neck, before returning her attention to the first pair of shoes she grabbed, Jaques Villeneuve burgundy bun shoe Derbies and calmly tossed the pair to him. He looked at them and nodded his head in approval.

"At least cover it. Rumors get started very quickly on your side of the building if I may add" she told him.

He paused while lacing up his shoes in thought. Nina usually dropped certain subjects when it was clear he would no longer speak on the matter, but for some reason she was pressing a little too deeply and even going so far as to tell him what the outcome would be if someone were to see it.

"There's nothing to be concerned about. My employees are human, and humans talk and imagine things. It's natural. If they see it and start to talk it will have no affect on me" he told her simply.

Feeling satisfied with his answer, Nina finally pushed the topic out of her mind. But it was curious. She didn't see him tailing along with any woman, nor did she see a woman tailing after him and yet there was a bite mark on his neck that suggested a sexual rendezvous. If he wasn't worried about it then neither was she, and besides, it wasn't like it came into direct conflict with his life either.

Jin stood and shrugged on his blazer before walking back down the long hallway and into the kitchen where he left his keys. Snatching them up, he made his way to the front door before glancing behind him to see if she was standing there and low and behold she was.

He frowned. "You're wearing that?"

Her head tilted, reminding him of a puppy. "If someone intends to make an attempt on your life during this event I have to be ready"

Jin failed to see how a business skirt, button up, and short heels qualified as something being comfortable enough to fight in but he left that up to Nina and walked outside into the night air and to his truck. Nina's heeled footsteps led away from him and to her deep red Audi R8 where she turned on the ignition and peeled off towards the office, Jin figured she would meet him there.

* * *

><p><strong>—12:35pm—<strong>

Onyx eyes shot open and haggard breaths could be heard aloud in a cold bedroom. Kazuya now lay awake in a puddle of his own sweat in his bed and he laid a hand against his chest, feeling the erratic and uneven heartbeat. He assessed his familiar surroundings and would've sighed in relief had it not been for the sharp pain going across his chest. Screams of agony echoed from his throat as the feeling of his blood boiling began to be too much for him and he searched frantically for the one thing that would calm him.

Finding it lying on his nightstand next to him, he reached for the syringe that had an opaque almost silver look to its fluid and plunged it deep in the middle of his chest, pressing down on the button on the top to release the cool, soothing feeling liquid. The burning sensation stopped and calm spread into his body. Tiredly, he withdrew the now empty syringe and threw it disdainfully off to the side before laying back down fully on his king sized mattress.

His chest was bare and practically glistening with sweat and his dark hair stuck to the sides if his head. The elder man wondered what happened to make his devil gene act up so much and why in his sleep of all times for him to have an episode. It was good thing he had an emergency dosage lying next to him just in case, or he would've died right then and there and no one would've known except himself.

A vibration in his sheets made him reach around with his hands and eventually he grasped his phone, still buzzing its little head off. He slid the lock to the right on his phone , entered the passcode and read the message. Eyes narrowed, he finished reading the forwarded message that somehow made its way to his phone when he wasn't even planning to go to the stupid ass party. Whoever's bright idea it was to send the notification to his phone was a dead man by tomorrow afternoon, that's when he remembered who also received an invitation to the little get together.

At the thought of entertainment for the night, a smirk caressed Kazuya's face as he hopped out of bed and made his way towards his shower.

**:::**

A fluffy white towel hung low around his waist as he toweled dry his dark locks in his steam filled bathroom. Mist clouded up his mirrors, obscuring his self image, but the man was arrogant enough to already know he looked gorgeous and God-like. He wiped at the mirror sitting in front of him to comb and style his hair and grimaced at the blue veins making themselves visible across his skin, side effect to the dosages, but a light price to pay to stay alive. He grumbled something incomprehensible and proceeded to his bedroom where he found his outfit for that night already laid out on his bed for him to wear.

One of his eyebrows rose in question as he stopped toweling his hair and looked around the vicinity, both of his hands hanging on both ends of the damp towel itself around his neck.

"I think you'll look sexy in that tonight" a sultry voice purred.

Kazuya inwardly groaned. "Anna..."

"The one and only" she cooed while stepping out of deep shadows.

He rose both eyebrows at her attire. An inhumane short black dress that had a slit on the side extending up to her hip, where the bodice showed off her bountiful cleavage in a halter top fashion. Kazuya could only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. There was no way he would be seen walking into the building with her looking like that.

"You picked out my clothes" he said flatly, irritation a clear emotion in his words.

She waved the matter away with the flick of her hand. "You look sexy in anything you put on, I just threw something together that would only prove that fact"

Ego now fully groomed and pampered, Kazuya found that he couldn't fault her in anything she said. He agreed with her and he was sure the most of Mishima Zaibatsu would agree with him (the females that is, just the thought of men thinking of him that way made him cringe), she knew just how to twist her words enough to please him and it worked every time. He dropped the towel from around his neck as well as the one from around his waist and couldn't help smirking to himself when he heard Anna suck in a breath and hold it there.

**:::**

Cool air assaulted Kazuya's face as he looked out the window of the limo he sat in and he inhaled. He was almost jittery with excitement as he pondered over the possible results of tonight. He could only picture Jin's furious or confused face and he would be forced to take action, how would he go about it?

He was close to telling the driver to go faster when he caught something in the corner of his eyes catch his attention. It was just Anna leaning on the windowsill of her window near him and avoiding his gaze as he looked openly at her. She almost seemed to squirm under his gaze and even went so far as to turn her body away from him. Kazuya was shocked. Was she really shy about him now? He was sure that after he carelessly dropped his bathroom towel from around his waist that she would practically jump his bones, but what he got was an unusually quiet Anna who could hardly look at him.

It started subtle at first, the deep rumbling from his chest, but then it turned into outright chuckling as he held his head in one hand. Anna was really all talk and her reaction to him only proved as such. If anything she probably had little to no experience with the opposite sex whatsoever and that all in itself was hilarious to Kazuya as he remembered all the times where she would shamelessly throw herself at him.

Eventually they slowed to a stop in front of the lit up building and Kazuya chuckled more as Anna practically scurried out of the limo and away from him. He shook his head and stepped out of the limo himself, patting the trunk lightly, and watching the vehicle pull away and towards the large parking lot behind the building.

* * *

><p>Jin was absolutely sure Kaito didn't know this many people for one measly bachelor party, and he also knew for a fact that most of the man's paycheck went towards the skimpy dressed female dancers that threw him looks that meant promising things behind closed doors.<p>

Nina had disappeared earlier on when he first arrived inside and Jin knew that she would appear when it was time to leave. He was applauded at when he first stepped on the scene inside and that was when he knew that some of people attending the supposedly small bachelor party were high end and pretentious, people whom he was dead set on asking Kaito about when and if he saw him at all.

A woman wearing electric blue pasties and the same color lace thong walked over to him with a silver tray held right below her bountiful mounds. "Would you like a refreshment?" She asked in a sultry voice.

Jin inhaled momentarily and immediately smelled the alcohol in the beverage. He could've wrinkled his nose in disgust had it not been for him thinking the action would morph his face into something ugly.

"No thank you" he smiled at her politely. He could practically see her heart melting on the floor beneath her red-bottom heels. She returned the gentle smile and scurried away, quickly and almost clumsily offering drinks to others who didn't care what she did as long as her body was on full display.

Jin had considered getting a drink much earlier that night, but thought better against the idea knowing that what was put in most alcoholic consumptions didn't mix well with his devil gene. He could remember unpleasantly how much his throat seemed to throb and clog up with mucus because he had one glass of Chardonnay. The affects of alcohol mostly lasted about a week if he wasn't careful so he decided to just cut the drinks out of his life all together. He didn't know how his father did it though, and must've had a iron liver by now.

His dark eyes assessed the atmosphere and crowd around him, grinding bodies meshed together of both sexes, women of entertainment seeming to lurk around his proximity but not getting close enough to speak to him; trying to draw him out of his cold shell, and from afar, the murmur of whispers and onlookers awed and surprised.

The crowd began to part like waves all the way to him and Jin was given full vision of his father, Kazuya, making an appearance with Anna no where in sight. His hands were in his pockets and the way he strode to where Jin was, was casual yet regal at the same time, something Jin knew to be untrue. There was nothing "_casual_" about his father. Even the two thousand dollar navy blue suit he wore was anything but casual, and that went for the Marc Jacob soft leather beige lace up's he wore as well.

Jin could feel his right eye twitching in annoyance as his father approached and everyone's eyes seemed to follow after him in admiration and respect. Of course Kazuya already had a glass of what smelled like Smirnoff vodka (or maybe Grey Goose if Jin's nose was right) in his hand, and held it at his side gracefully careful not to waste a single drop on anything that he was wearing.

"Quite the bachelor party," Kazuya said as he looked around, his eyes following after an entertainment woman wearing a yellow colored lace thong, before smirking slightly. "there's no way Kaito knows this many people"

Jin nodded his head in agreement (also finding it uncanny that his father seemed to pull the earlier thought out of his head and say it aloud) and was now starting to regret not accepting a drink when it was offered to him. With his father stopping the party for a moment to make his grand entrance, the younger male had never yearned for a throat burning liquid any more than he did at that moment.

Then something else happened. Something else that made Jin's yearn for Chardonnay even stronger. His younger cousin pushing her way through the crowd of men that grouped around her, wearing a stunning blue and black one shoulder dress that stopped right above her knees with a sheer black covering extending down to the tops of her feet.

To normal people, Asuka Kazama, cousin of the infamous Jin Kazama is one of the few champions of the most recent Iron Fist tournament which made her famous enough and not to mention her association with her elder cousin, so the excitement about an A-lister like her showing up was something of a big deal, but a pain in the ass for Jin.

Jin happened to glance at Kazuya one time before double taking at the small but noticeable smirk twitching on the sides of his mouth. _The bastard planned this._ A fury brewed deep within Jin as he confronted the elder man.

"As much as I dislike you, I dislike your games even more which peaks your bland entertainment. Why the hell did you invite Asuka to something like this?!" He angrily questioned. He scoffed when Kazuya did nothing but smirk in delight. "And why the hell are you even here? You said you couldn't be bothered to attend something as trivial as this yet here you are"

Kazuya downed his shot glass and finally turned to Jin who still had a displeased frown on his face. "Just like everyone else here I came for entertainment," he swiped a beverage from a passing silver tray as another female dancer passed by and handed it to Jin who took it with indifference, clinking his glass against his son's as he did. "And not the bland kind"

The devil politely excused himself and left from sight once he saw Asuka standing behind Jin before said man could say anything else. Jin softly groaned and turned around once he heard the impatient tapping of Asuka's foot behind him. He looked into her eyes and saw more hurt there than yesterday, it was a blind rage then but now it was an almost soft betrayal that he actually felt bad for.

He didn't necessarily have a stable nor consistent relationship with his younger cousin but he did at one point a long time ago confided in her his emotional standing with Kazuya, and she listened attentively until he was finished and hugged him tightly as a response. Jin supposed she was still hanging on to the moment of weakness from him, but what she probably already figured out was that she was never going to see that version of himself ever again.

"I figured you would probably be even more busy at a party but a little birdie told me you have absolutely nothing to do," she shrugged lightly at the atmosphere and he found himself softening a bit for her. "I know this isn't really your scene ,but we can always go to your office and talk" she suggested.

Jin's mouth tightened a bit almost forming a frown, but he suppressed it. It wasn't going to be easy for him, but he decided at that moment to start trusting his cousin enough to tell him things, explain him self to her, and stop stepping on her feelings when they were clearly for the betterment and advancement for him. He figured he didn't know what it felt like to be cared for ever since his mother...died.

* * *

><p>At the moment Kazuya watched as his son and niece headed towards the scarcely populated hallway going back towards the offices and cubicles. He smirked at the scene before his attention was momentarily taken by the light tug on his suit sleeve. Turning and staring down at the skimpy dressed woman, the same one who caught his attention earlier with the yellow lace thong.<p>

Now that she was closer to him, he could clearly see her features up close and mused lightly to himself that she was indeed a cute little thing and he towered over her more than the average woman. Her hair stopped in the middle of her back in thick brown curls that framed her oval shaped face lightly. Hazel eyes brought out the mocha colored skin that adorned her flesh and Kazuya found himself staring.

"Would you like a drink?" She asked in a flirtatious tone.

He took one off her tray and nodded his head at her in thanks. She returned the incline of his head with a small smile before sauntering off elsewhere with his eyes trailing after, he licked his lips and wondered how old she was.

Another commotion, bigger than the one he made started with surprised gasps from females and outrages hoots and cat-calls from males. Flashes of light going off from phones as many people took pictures of the newcomer made Kazuya squint his eyes to get a better look at the assailant that attempted to take away his limelight, but what he didn't already know was that as soon as the Rochefort heir stepped on any scene the spotlight would remain on her.

She wore a skin tight and elastic Vintage Chanel Rouen Knit dress. Her midsection was clear to see through the sheer fabric of her dress and her long cream colored legs were on full display. The black and gold strappy heels perfectly curved around her feet and made her seem as if she were a mile long and her usual waterfall blonde silk hair was put up in a genie ponytail. The eyeliner around her eyes made her icy blues seem even more intense than they always were without the makeup.

Kazuya watched the young girl with an intensity that was surprising to even himself. Every curve of her and mannerism reminded him of her late mother who was an exact copy of the daughter except older and more warmth to her eyes. She seemed to cut through the crowd with just her eyes and she finally spotted the man she was looking for standing off to the side by his lonesome with an empty shot glass in his hand.

Long legs glided across the marble floors with purpose in every step. A small smirk could be seen playing at her lips but it was a Mona Lisa, something that could easily be mistaken for a frown or grimace. Hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as she got closer until finally he could see the specks of gray in her eyes. Before she even said anything to him, his eyes assessed the whispering crowd around them and already he could see the rumors start to fly. Lili seemed to notice it too and rolled her eyes.

"Well now that you've made the entrance Jin's employee Kaito will never forget, I'm sure you didn't come here just for that purpose" he told her.

A slender hand went up and caressed the tips of her tight ponytail. "I came to see you..." Her eyes assessed the empty space around him. "Considering your conjoined twin isn't around"

He nodded his head and led her away with his hand on the small of her back.

* * *

><p>AN: I made this one extra long specifically for Cat-chan who is ever so loyal to me and this chapter is just for you! This is my thank you for sticking up for my work that I worked hard on. Also just as a reference look up some of the fashion in this chapter on google images just to get an idea of what everyone is wearing. You won't be dissipation tend unless you really have an idea for this things of course lol.


	8. Chapter 8

Put Out Your Hand Please

**Chapter 8**

Two powerful people sat in front of each other. A man and a young woman both powerful in their own right except one was impossibly trapped under the thumb of another and would only be set free with the help of the man's son. The other man had an dilemma too, and that decision relied on his sinking company that would fall without the young woman's help.

_The King and the Queen on the chessboard were strong enough to stand on their own, but wouldn't survive without the other._

* * *

><p>"I couldn't help but feel pitiful for you during that meeting," Kazuya mused while crossing his hands, "to be forced into something absolutely toxic for you just to escape something just as toxic. A catch 22"<p>

Lili's mouth went thin and her blue eyes turned to ice. "You're lucky it isn't you who has to be with me and it's your son instead. I would make your life a personal hell" she snipped.

A small smirk pulled at the end of his lips. "I have no doubt in your abilities, Ms. Rochefort"

"Please call me Lili...or Emilie, Kazuya" she said while examining her nails.

"And that's Mishima to you brat" he snapped.

Her eyes opened a little in delight. "Oh. Name calling, I didn't know we were so far in our friendship yet. I at least thought we were on a first name basis"

"You and I are far from friends little girl," he said with a snort. "You wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for our reserves being bled almost completely dry, otherwise I would kill myself before going to your greedy father for help"

She snorted herself, forsaking the ladylike grace she had when she walked in. "Arrogance doesn't look good on you Mishima, but that's what your family is known for I suppose. You all could have gone somewhere further had it not been so, I've heard the stories"

Kazuya's mouth quirked and he decided too soon to hit her where he knew it would hurt. "And what about your father? Hmmm? He seems to only go somewhere far from all of us when he's burying himself in your body"

He watched slowly as her jaw locked and her blue eyes froze. For a moment he thought he saw water coming ,but it was only for a moment. She softly cleared her throat and remained silent for a minute longer, letting her anger and despair hang in the air thickly before speaking, her added spite now sucked away from her tone.

"Everyone has their demons...you know this better than anyone" she said with a knowing look. "My father is a despicable man...I don't know what my mother saw in him" she said aloud with a far away look.

Kazuya didn't regret what he said to the young girl—actually he sort of did. No one went around reminding him just who's fault it was about the abrupt passing of Jin's mother, not even Jin himself so what gave him the right to shove the girl's personal life back in her face? Especially one so painful that even Kazuya couldn't imagine. Truthfully speaking, he didn't know what Lilian saw in the bastard either.

He began to speak to her again, surprising himself with how gentle his voice had become. "What do you want from me?"

Her eyes looked directly into his and they held each other's gaze momentarily. "Well considering that now we are going to forever be involved with each other indirectly, I need your help"

If the young woman was anything like her mother, Kazuya knew that her even coming to him at all for his help with anything was an incredible sign of trust, or just simply because of the fact that she was incredibly desperate. He was thinking of the latter.

Kazuya didn't pressure her to speak her mind (although he was a very impatient person) and knew that someone with that much pride within themselves would find it near impossible to ask anyone for help, especially from someone they didn't particularly care for. The elder man was almost the exact same way except he was mature enough to ask for aid when it was certain he would fail if he did not, the girl in front of him more than likely wouldn't care if she did or not, but her happiness was on the line. She was dependent on him and he knew that.

"Help me destroy him.."

His mouth quirked in delight at the proposed demise of his most troublesome advisary with the future help of Edward's most treasured weapon that would be used against him. The girl was a double-edged sword with poison on both tips.

"in return...when my inheiritance is rightly bestowed on me, I'll keep your company afloat until you no longer need of me"

Kazuya could purr like a chesire cat. This was more than grooming his ego, this was a full blown satisfying and securing his desire and need. As he once discovered, he could care less for business and all that entailed with it, but Mishima Co. was similar to a relic in his family—a very old relic. He had to be sure of its survival for his own sanity and approved highly of anyone risking anything for the sake of the same company. The fact that the girl in front of him was very well risking the relationship (or lake thereof) and her freedom had him looking at her in a different light—a light all its own from her mother's who was overwhelmed by Edward's.

He wasn't completely blinded by her words and heard her clearly when she specifically implied that the oblivion of her father meant the safety for his company—which meant to him that she wasn't asking for his help just to save his business but to save herself as well. It was killing two birds with one stone for him—mostly three with another added plus of her pretty and well known face being added to his list of people he was now associated with.

"You'll have to tell me everything you know about him from beginning to end. His life, of much of it that he's told you that you know for a fact aren't lies, his business and your tasks within it, the amount of money each and every reserve contains, and everything else that may prove useful to me in cutting him loose from the world of business," he paused and stared deep into her eyes that reminded him so much of her father's, "If you want me to help you, you're going to have to tell me things you wouldn't want to tell anyone else. If you want to truly break him, then you must lower yourself to me first to expose his ugly face he refuses to show"

He left his words purposeful and heavy in the air between them and watched as the strength of them seemed to lift her a bit more after he recently tore her down for rebuffing him.

Her lips pursed in thought, perhaps trying to figure out how to word her story to him and she sighed. "If you're willing to listen to my story at all...then I suppose I can trust you not to use this against me in the future..."

And it was then that Kazuya was shown the soft underbelly of the coldest exterior in all of Japan.

* * *

><p>The distant cousins had spent most of the bachelor party time within the cold confines of Jin's office. They talked pleasantly and lightly about Asuka's side of the family and the recent events of her life that even the brooding man couldn't resist chuckling at. He observed how much she seemed to have grown when he last saw her and even commented on the fact and watched her color with embarrassment, to which he smiled.<p>

Jin had to admit that he actually missed having the option to be able to talk to her like this and regretted his hasty decision to send her away from his presence because he felt weak for confiding in her. In more ways than one, he found himself able to remember the peaceful times between his mother and himself through Asuka and the way she talked to him, encouraged him, and no doubt loved him

Asuka felt relieved to finally be in good graces with her cousin once more. It affected her more than she thought it would when she thought she'd finally gotten a glimpse of Jin's interior only to be shot down later when she let him know that he could always come to her for anything and everything. Although they didn't share the deep bond she would've liked, she was still very protective of him as if that fact had changed a long time ago. No one could speak bad about him in her presence at school and the last person that did was still currently in the hospital back in Osaka. She didn't know what she hated more, those that spoke about things they had no knowledge of, or condescending people who literally had it in their heads that the world should bow to them. A familiar blonde popped up in her mind as to who fit that description to the letter and just thinking about her in the slightest turned her whole face into a scowl. Jin was in the middle of a sentence before he abruptly stopped at the change in Asuka's demeanor. He thought swiftly over his past words that may have upset her, but could find no faults.

"Asuka?" he questioned.

She crossed her arms and blew a strand of her hair out of her face. "I just remembered that you still haven't given me an explanation as to why you'll forever be chained to that blonde bimbo"

One of his dark eyebrows twitched in amusement as he was familiar with the lingo, but he had it in his mind to correct his younger cousin on her biased opinion. "...I understand there is bad blood between the two of you" he mused.

Not pleased that he was once again dodging the question that she asked earlier that day Asuka decided to entertain his comment. "How dare you answer my question with an irrelevant statement..."

"I just wanna know why you don't like her, or at the very least can't find it in yourself to tolerate her" he inquired.

Asuka gulped slightly, not really sure how to answer the question now that anyone had bothered to ask. "Ever since she showed up she's rubbed me the wrong way. Her face is everywhere in Tokyo so it was like having royalty walking around my plain school" her eyes looked up to see if she still had her cousin's attention and she was pleased to find she did. "The whole world seemed to pause and stop when word got around about her and I'll admit that I was a it excited too. On tv and commercials she seems like such a sweetheart with a personality of gold and I thought that her and I could easily become friends ,but everyone was wrong...and so was I" she shook her head with a small smile at the memory. "Her heart is as cold as ice Jin. She's not capable of loving anyone around her except maybe for her father, who's an angel by the way, and it astonishes me how she can be so cruel and ruthless with the face of a devil. Everyone at my school hates her"

Jin took in all of his cousin's information and observations on his fiancé with a grain of sand. He would never reveal to his cousin the truth because it wasn't his secret to tell. He was completely disgusted by Lili's snobbishness sure, but her attitude wasn't completely her fault. If anything the fault lies with her disgusting father who took pleasure in her own detest and resentment of him. Her "heart of ice" as Asuka had described to him was a defense mechanism for the blonde, Jin had one of his own himself and had to dig deep within himself to rid of it.

Still, Jin felt the need to reassure Asuka, "My engagement is not based on love Asuka..." He calmly explained to her. "It's a necessity for this company to survive with the little money it has left, which is partially my fault anyway"

Asuka cocked her head to the side in confusion, trying to figure out how anything that happened to Mishima Co. could possibly be Jin's own fault when he was co-CEO of the place. Her cousin smiled gently and waved the matter away with his hand, her trying to figure out something as complicated as his job would only hurt her little mind.

"Anyway, it's mutual between us. Neither of us want this, but...it'll help immensely for both parties" he told her calmly.

Now that the situation was explained to her thoroughly Asuka couldn't find it in herself to be mad with her cousin anymore, but find even more of a reason to hate the blonde haired leech even more. She couldn't find anyone else to blame and of course it had to be Lili's fault, there's no way she was a victim in this as well.

"I find it hard to believe she doesn't want to be with you" she chuckled charmingly. "Every single female in my school knows your name and probably thinks about you when they get home. Some wish they were in my shoes right now"

He colored slightly and shook his head. "Females are...complicated. I tend to stay away from them but they somehow make their way to me"

Asuka rolled her eyes and stood from her seat in front of Jin's desk, patting off her dress of imaginary dust before turning towards his door. "I'm just gonna get a drink, I'm actually parched" she informed him.

He nodded. "Normally I would inquire that you bring me one too but...you know who won't allow such a thing in my bloodstream. I think he detests it"

His cousin shot him a troubled expression at his comment and swiftly left his office afterwards. Jin sighed and put a hand to his forehead, of course he'd forgotten that Asuka had only seen him in his other form one time and was still wary of it. What she dislikes is the way that he brought it up in conversation like it was an everyday common thing—as if it were normal and apart of him.

* * *

><p>Asuka immersed herself back in the still fairly large crowd in the heart of Mishima Co. From what she was told, everything was suppose to be cleaned up and out away by now-virtually spotless. But here people were still dancing and shouting as well as the dancers who no longer seemed to have anymore drinks to offer their patrons and just danced their lives away as well.<p>

In another corner of the room, where most of the A-listers had gathered, Asuka noticed someone amongst that crowd that struck her attention and made her pause. There the blonde bombshell was. What was she doing there? And with Kazuya no less?! Her throat started to burn at the sight of her uncle quite close to the French tigress, his hand right on her back and seeming to be rubbing small circles in her back. The young female didn't recoil or back away from his touch either, rather she seemed to be soothed by his small comfort and intimate action.

Beyond weirded out, Asuka turned back around only to run into the hard chest of her cousin standing right behind her. She searched Jin's face for any sort of calm and found none. His facial expression may have showed signs of sereness to any normal person but she wasn't just anybody to him and could see the torrent of emotion deep within his onyx eyes. She wanted to console him somehow and grew alarmed when he gently pushed her soothing hands away from his personal space.

"Jin.."

He didn't respond to her as he walked away and towards the two regal people standing too close to each other.

* * *

><p>Jin was getting slightly curious when his cousin didn't return for awhile after claiming she wanted a drink. Parties were not a favorite of her's and she hardly knew anyone in his business at all so she wouldn't stop for conversation.<p>

He stood from his desk and walked out of his office, leaving his door open because he knew he would be returning soon with Asuka in tow. What was taking her so long to get a drink? The beat of music bounced off the walls of the hallway as Jin got closer and closer to the heart of the company. He was a bit baffled that no one appeared to have left yet or at least started to leave, but he figured that as soon as the A-listers of the group filed out then the crowd would follow suit.

Dark eyes assessed the crowd with almost perfect perception and five minutes went by before he found his cousin in all her blue colored glory standing in one spot and staring in one direction. His eyebrow rose in confusion as his eyes slowly followed her line of sight and stopping dead center on Kazuya first and then the blonde on his arm.

* * *

><p>She had completely shed her skin for him and felt naked...raw. Her flesh felt bruised and cut all over again and her thighs sore...her left eye black and blue. As the words of her life left her mouth in Kazuya's presence it was like reliving all the terrible moments once more and it was almost too much for her to bare.<p>

He noticed how she seemed to shrink more and more into herself and was surprised at how thick and unbreakable her mask was until she finally took it off herself. When tears started to dabble at the corner of her eyes as she spoke to him, her eyes clouded up and started to resemble the same kind of striking grey Lilian possessed. Red colored her pretty face as emotion seemed to rack through her and his heart began to clench for her when she got to some parts of the story he'd rather not hear. Kazuya asked for the ugly side of Edward, and that's exactly what he had gotten.

Lili sniffles gently, pawing away at the tears that were dripping down her nose and getting on her dress-disappearing into the fabric. She refused to look at him in fear of seeing a pitying look that would mean the end of her if she saw it. The last thing she wanted was the pity of someone else and that person looking at her differently because she had a difficult household life since day one.

It didn't even occur to the young female that they were staring at each other until she blinked and he rapidly turned his gaze elsewhere. Her heart raced painfully in her chest as she saw an emotion of upmost respect for her in his eyes and she had to wonder if she was seeing things. It was hard for her to even breathe the same air as him now that he knew everything, and the person to lend their ear was the most unlikely...she would've never guessed it would be him.

"I was once in the same place as you...and also the same as your father—Edward" he corrected himself. He met her eyes once more and found that her tears had abruptly stopped and she was staring at him with an intensity that almost made the older man squirm. "I was...a victim and an oppressor. It was done to me and I had done it to someone else..." He said almost quietly.

It was no secret that Kazuya felt bad for what he'd done in the past, he was downright shamed because of his actions. No one else knew that he was torn inside over the vivid dreams he use to have or the frightening daydreams that would leave him scrambling for peace at the prospect of reality—not even Jin knew of his personal torment that now lied dormant inside of his sub-consciousness. He felt that he could share that little piece of himself with Lili because she just bore herself naked to him. Kazuya could not and would not leave her with nothing after what she told him with tears coming out of her eyes, a rare phenomenon he probably would never have the privilege to see again. What she shared with him was worth sharing a piece of himself as well, it was only fair, plus he needed to be able to get something as heavy as his regrets off his chests as much as anyone else his age.

"Ah.." She replied softly. "So you know both sides to the same coin," a soft cynical laugh came from her mouth then as she swooped her line of sight over his head and to the blank wall of his office. "In a way, I'm also an abusive person. Verbally of course, but...it's all the same if you're deeply hurting that person and don't care"

An image of Baek's star pupil came to mind in Kazuya's head in response to Lili's words and he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from inquiring about him. "In my case it was Jin's mother, and my father who decided...it would be best to show his appreciation in a different way" noticing how that sounded the elder man quickly cleared up any misconception, "by using his fists of course. Never mind that I was extremely weak and fragile at such a young age"

Kazuya continued his story after a quick swallow of nearby Scotch that he kept in his office for intense moments like these. It wasn't his favorite alcohol, but having it scorch around in his mouth and throat brought him a comfort he wouldn't be able to have without it.

"Jin's mother was..." Kazuya paused trying to find the words. "a magnificent being whom I will never find again in another woman of this lifetime. Maybe some far away distant future I may have the privilege once more, but...I relinquished that honor when I snuffed out that happiness myself when Jin was still young, present and all"

The young blonde female was surprised as she attentively listened to Kazuya's fall from grace involving his family, and would've never conceived of the thought that such a prideful and great man would ever lower himself to tell her anything. It was a touchy subject and one she would never have enough gall to throw back in his face at a later time and such an important piece of himself was tied into his story that she almost felt flattered that he felt obligated to share.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly, deeply immersed in his history.

A cynical smile adorned his god-like face and he shook his head slowly at her. "I think if I told you, the disgust you have for your father would be eclipsed by the disgust you'll grow to have for me"

She shivered at the thought and considered it best if she didn't know what he did and thought back to her decision on not inquiring Sebastian as to whatever happened to her own mother.

"I am not one to lower myself to anyone, especially to a man of your status, but...it seems it would be of great use to me to thank you" she told him as she gracefully stood from her seat.

Kazuya watched as her eyes met his and he believed everything she said, and everything about her life. This was not the same bratty and self-righteous, sheltered by money, little girl he use to know of, but a wounded, strong, and grieving young woman. The outer shell she put on that disgusted him with all of her kind was an after-image of what she had lost when her father would rule over her with the back of his hand, what she would've been had Edward been the mask that he lets the whole world see, and Kazuya had no other choice than to respect the young girl for braving the angry waters of her domestic life for ten years.

He stood with her and nodded his head at her previous comment, not expecting a thanks from her no less, but appreciating the obvious gratitude she showed him. Somehow, Kazuya wanted to comfort her, in his own way and with a method that would at least stay on her conscious that night and leave her with peace of mind when she awakes and what left his lips next would surely make that happen.

"Before, when I would look at you, all I saw was your mother Lilian" he watched as her face seemed to go slightly rigid. "but after knowing you now, I've realized that the both of you contrast like the moon and sun. You actually have the will and want to get out of that toxicity, and your mother was too enamored with a good thought of him. You are your own person, your own woman"

Lili quickly had to avoid his eyes with her own as she felt her face color hotly. She was never told that before and it was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It had never occured to her in the slightest that she was bothered by being compared to her mother over and over again. Edward mainly was the person to constantly see her mother in her and the young woman believed still that he actually _does _see her mother when he looks at her, tabloid after tabloid recognized Lili as the very essence of her infamous mother and one reporter had mistakenly once called her by her mother's maiden name_'Ms. Celeste over here!' _

Lili wondered where her mother ended and when she individually started_, _but in front of Kazuya—the most powerful man in Japan, he saw her as her own and recognized her as her own. To say she felt refreashed was an understatement.

After staying paused for a moment and realizing that she and Kazuya were staring at each other quite intensely, Lili shook herself out of her personal thoughts and smiled small at him in thanks which earned her a smirk that made her blush prettily again.

"The tabloids will be a madhouse," she announced while trying to diffuse her hot face. "I hope you're prepared for whatever rumor of our non-existent romance to come up no later than tomorrow morning"

He chuckled and walked over to her as she lazily leaned against his cold office door, her small black clutch bag in her hands. "We could use that to our advantage and make your father believe you are getting close to me instead. I think it would please him more if you seem to take that route since he honestly believes that I am more powerful than Jin"

She bristled at his close proximity, before she looked at him with a confused expression to feign her own knowledge of the fact. Kazuya saw the look on her face and went to explain.

"We are the same" he told her simply.

Lili nodded her head in understanding and turned her back towards him to lead the two of them out. He followed behind her and closed his door gently behind them before walking alongside his blonde haired companion.

"Should I be close to you?" She asked him while cutting her gaze in his direction to watch his expression.

He shrugged and put his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't want to get you into trouble"

Either with his son or her father Lili didn't know, but she found herself walking alongside the length of his side and virtually under his arm. He said nothing as he took one hand out of his pants pocket and wrapped that very same one about her waist. Cerulean eyes gazed up at him and it was then that Kazuya remembered just how innocent this girl truly was. Her lips were parted slightly and he blinked twice before looking away from her, and squeezing her hip reassuringly.

They walked down the long and fairly dark hallway in this same position in silence. Kazuya wanted to smirk as he thought of the girl as a little heat box glued to his side as she walked in stride with him and she thought of him as someone who had to be cold-blooded.

"This doesn't mean we're friends" she said with a slight smirk to her words.

He looked down at the top of her head and saw the mirth bouncing around in her eyes. "Far from it little girl"

* * *

><p>AN: It pleases me how my fellow readers like to assume things in the review area and I just throw a big ole curveball in there and feel so proud of myself doing it. Yes I may have made Kazuya a little OOC ,but in my defense I say I made him more human. His current attitude serves a later purpose in the story and if any one of you can figure out what that purpose is then you are psychic my friend o.O In favor of Kazuya being more "human" in MY fanfiction, I made him feel more obligated towards our Lili-chan considering she told him everything that she wouldn't even tell Jin or Hwoarang had he not have known already. In return for her openness towards him with something so personal, Kazuya decided to do the same not only because he personally felt obligated to but because he wanted her trust and now he has it. They trust each other now, and can't imagine using their personal lives as ammo to hurt the other, other things however, were not completely put off the table.

Lili and Kazuya will still continue to bicker like usual and call each other names ,but because of this talk they will now start to understand each other a bit more and their respect for one another will only continue to grow.


End file.
